Everything You Want
by Bring On The Rain
Summary: Ino was certain she would never like Dog Boy, but after he saves her, risking his own life, does all of their quarreling change? Maybe, but what kinds of struggles lay ahead? And how long will they last? KibaIno, slight NaruHina, hint of LeeTen.
1. In Danger of Entanglement

**Okayyy soo...I'm having major blockage in my NejiIno fic, so I decided to start a KibaIno one!**

**(Edit) They are all now fifteen, like in the Shippuuden.**

**Hope you like it!**

**--- **

"Come on, Kiba! Can't we rest just a bit for now? My feet are killing me!" A frustrated Ino yelled from a few feet behind the Inuzuka boy. Kiba sighed in aggravation after hearing the Blonde Kunoichi complain about her feet for about a half an hour. "Fine! We shouldn't take too long though, it'll be dark soon, and we have to get back to Konoha before tomorrow." He said with irritation as he leaned against a tree.

The two had been on a mission for the last few days, delivering a message to a neighboring village to Konoha. And being Chuunin, it was an especially easy task for them.

Ino leaned against a tree and sighed, taking a drink of water from her cantine.

"I'm taking Akamaru the the nearby river to get a drink. I'll be back in a little while. Be careful." Kiba stated, standing up straight. "I don't need you to pretend you care, Dog Boy, I'm not weak like you think." Ino rhetorted sharply. Kiba raised an eyebrow and smiled teasingly, "I'm not so sure about that. A small girl like you should have body guards, considering you can't defend yourself properly. Just stay put, I'll be back." He laughed and walked off into the trees. Ino glared and yelled, "Damnit, Dog Boy! I can defend myself and don't need YOU to protect me!" she shook her fist in the direction he left in. She huffed and crossed her arms, leaning back against the tree.

"Hiya..." Ino suddenly heard a male's voice next to her, she turned sharply, ready to fight, then seeing the man had a headband of the rock village ninja. _What's he doing near Konoha?_ she thought just before the man pinned her against the tree. "You're a pretty one, I think I'll keep you and bring you back to the village." the male ninja said before a few more rock village ninja emerged from the trees. "I'm gonna have fun with you." he smirked and caressed her face. "So soft..." he whispered. Ino squealed and kicked the man with her knee, causing him to wince in pain and let go. She tried to run to where Kiba went, but the other ninja blocked her path, and the first man recovered and pinned her to the ground.

"Oi, Ino! You sure like to cause trouble, eh?" a familiar voice came from behind them, "Kiba!" Ino pleaded for help. "Oh? Is this your boyfriend, girly?" the man snickered. "Back off, old man!" Kiba yelled as he jumped on the man, pushing him away from Ino and tackling him to the ground. That was the last thing Ino saw before she passed out after something hit her in the head.

---

Ino awoke in a Konoha Hospital bed with a huge headache, causing her to wince in pain, bringing her hand up to touch her forehead. It was bandaged. She groaned slightly and sat up, "You're awake!" a familiar female's voice exclamed. "Sakura?" Ino mumbled and looked over at the pinked haired girl. "What happened?" She questioned. Sakura smiled softly, "I'm not really sure. Kiba came into the hospital with you in his arms, someone took you to a room just before he passed out. He was pretty banged up, Ino. You don't remember what happened?" She raised an eyebrow. Ino furrowed her brow and stared at her own lap. "Well I...There was this man, he was a real prick, wouldn't leave me alone while Kiba went for some water. Last thing I remember is Kiba trying to fight off three ninja from the rock village." she said quietly. "The rock village, huh? I wonder what they were doing so close to Konoha. But Ino, I think Kiba saved you. You should probably thank him when he wakes up."

Ino raised an eyebrow. "Dog Boy still hasn't woken up yet?" she was actually concerned. "Yeah, his wounds were pretty bad. Cuts and gashes from kunai everywhere." Sakura replied, shaking her head. "He did that all just to save me?" Ino moved her feet off the bed, ready to leave the room. "You should probably rest-" Sakura tried to talk but Ino cut in, "I'm fine, it's only a little bump on the head." Ino smiled reassuringly,_Damnit, Dog Boy...Why'd you have to go and play hero for me...I can fight for myself._ "Where's Kiba's room at?"

---

Ino entered Kiba's room. He was unconsious. Ino looked concerned as she sat on a chair next to his bed. He had bandages everywhere. Ino couldn't help but feel guilty, maybe she should've gone with him to the river, or at least kept her guard up more. It was only a small mission, and they were almost home. How was she to expect ninja from the rock village to suddenly try and kidnap her? She really was indebted to Kiba. Who knows what would've happened if he hadn't come when he did.

"It might be a few weeks before he can start his usual missions again." The Fifth Hokage, Tsunade walked into the room. "It's all my fault, Tsunade-sama. He's only like this because he was trying to protect me." Ino said quietly, staring at the brown haired Inuzuka boy. Tsunade walked closer to Ino, "It's no one's fault but those rock ninja Sakura informed me about. We're rivals with their village. Now we know they're up to something...We just need to figure out what it is." Tsunade said thoughtfully. "Get some rest, Ino. You need it." She said with a soft smile before exiting the room.

---

Kiba woke up in the middle of the night, finding it a bit hard to breath. "ugh..." he struggled to lift his hand, holding his head in pain. His blurry vision soon cleared up, finding that he was in Konoha Hospital. There a bundle of loose blonde hair on the side of his bed. "Blondie?" he whispered, then wincing and holding his arm in pain. Ino stirred, opening her eyes, then realizing she fell asleep in the chair, resting on Kiba's bed.

She looked at Kiba with wide eyes at first, "Kiba, you're okay!" she smiled. "Yeah...Sure, uh." he smiled awkwardly, "What are you doing here so late, Ino?" he narrowed his eyes and raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Well, I thought maybe...uh," Ino sweatdropped and rubbed her head, then looked down. "Look, I'm sorry, Kiba." she whispered. "What for?" He asked. "Well, it was kinda my fault...you turning up like this. And...thanks, for saving me. Sakura told me you brought me all the way into Konoha and to the hospital, right before collapsing on the floor...I don't think I can ever repay you for what you've done." She stared at her hands, playing with her own fingers nervously. Kiba blushed slightly. "ah, well I couldn't just leave ya there, you know...and I had to fight them off to..." he laughed, but stopped when he thought he saw a tear run down Ino's pale cheek in the moonlight.

"Ino..." he stared at her with a worried look. "Kiba, you could've been critically hurt, or worse!" Ino's voice cracked. She continued looking down, refusing to let him see her cry. _Does she actually...care about me?_ Kiba wondered. "It was my choice, and my choice alone to fight off those bastards, Ino. I got myself into this, and look, I'm fine. Turns out they were wimpier than expected and ran before I beat them to a bloody pulp." he reassured, then winced in pain as he continued to hold his left arm, but still tried to maintain his normal doggish half-smile. "But...I guess not before they beat me to a 'half' bloody pulp." he laughed.

Ino tried to smile slightly, but still, couldn't help but blame herself for this mess. "You should get home, Blondie. I'll be up and running in no time." He smiled awkwardly, yet somehow, Ino found it slightly adorable. Did she like him? No, she couldn't possibly. He was "Dog Boy". Impossible. Or is it?

Ino nodded and made her way to the door, "See ya tomorrow, Dog Boy." she smiled and left. Tomorrow? Did that mean she was coming back again? Kiba couldn't help but wonder about her. Maybe she wasn't as selfish and caught up in herself as he thought. _You're one confusing girl, blondie._ he thought and smirked as he looked out the window toward the sleeping village of Konoha.

---

Ino woke up in her house the next morning. She yawned and stretched, touching the bandage on her forehead, remembering what happened. "Kiba..." she whispered and quickly got dressed, took some flowers from the shop and made her way to the hospital.

Kiba woke up to a woman's voice and glanced to his right, to see flowers on the window sill. "Huh?" he mumbled and looked right, a smiling Ino staring back at him. "Good morning!" she said cheerfully, as if she wasn't even sad a bit the night before."Ino...Why are you here** again**?" he grumbled, sitting up, irritated that she awoke him from his rest. "Well," she started, as she made her way to the window sill and caressed a petal of a yellow rose, looking out at the bright sun. "This is what I do when someone important to me is hospitalized." she smiled and turned toward him. Her semi-long blonde hair, (she didn't grow it back out all the way.) not in a pony tail today, moving gracefully, shining in the sunlight.

_Someone Important… To her?_ Kiba didn't really know what to say. Ino always acted like she hated him. Calling him "dog breath" or any other insult she could think of for him. That was just their routine, acting like that to eachother, thinking up names to call. Kiba was confused now. Were they actually friends all this time? He couldn't recall ever truly hating Ino at all.

"I talked to Tsunade-sama, and she says you're recovering so fast, you should be out in a week!" She said cheerfully as Naruto, Shikamaru, Chouji and Neji walked into the room, all looking concerned, save for Neji, he always hid his emotion behind that blank expression of his. "KIBA!" Everyone's favorite blonde shinobi yelled and almost tackled the poor Inuzuka, had Ino not hit Naruto on the head first. "Baka, he's recovering, don't make it worse." she said plainly and crossed her arms. "Oi, what are you doing here, anyways, Ino?" Shikamaru said before yawning. "I, uh...was just bringing him some flowers!" she blushed and bit her lip nervously. "It's what I do for all of my friends that are hurt." she nodded. "Since when were you and Kiba **friends**?" Naruto mumbled, rubbing his head as he rose up from the ground after Ino hit him."Since a while! Okay?" Ino fumed.

Kiba just sweatdropped and laughed nervously, an angry Ino was something anyone dreaded to cause. And Naruto sure was good at doing that. "But you **hate** eachother!" Naruto stated loudly, still confused. Ino wanted to avoid the subject of her and Kiba as much as possible, for some reason. "Baka, I'm going. Bye." She crossed her arms and made a "hmph" before exiting. "Nandattebayo. What did I say?" Naruto scratched the back of his head. The others just shrugged and began talking to Kiba, wanting to know the details of exactly what happened.

---

A week later, Kiba was released from the hospital. Still a bit banged up, with one arm in a sling, but able to move around on his own.

"Tsunade says I won't be able to continue training for another few weeks." he said to Kurenai, who nodded when Kiba gestured toward his left arm, which was in a holster."All right, we'll have to send Hinata and Shino with a replacement on the next mission, then." Kurenai said, then waving Kiba off. "Go and rest, you still need to recover."

On the way home, Kiba spotted Ino outside of her family's flower shop, tending some flowers. "Hey, Blondie." He waved as he made his way toward her. "Kiba? You're out of the hospital!" She smiled brightly as she wiped her dirt covered hands on her apron. Kiba rubbed the back of his head and made a half smile, "Yeah, I, uh, wanted to sat thanks for..." then he noticed something behind Ino. She looked behind her and sqealed, "GAH, AKAMARU DON'T EAT THAT." she yelled at the dog who was chewing on a flower that she was just previously tending to. The large dog, who had grown awfully big in the last two years, growled at Ino, whose eyes widened and she yelped, hiding behind Kiba. "You...when I get you..." she grumbled, shaking her fist at the dog from behind her safety wall of Kiba. "Akamaru! Stop it. Blondie is our friend. So don't go growling or eating anymore of her flowers." Kiba said sternly as Akamaru now stood in silence as he walked to Kiba's side. He nudged Ino gently as if to say sorry. She reached over and softly patted the overgrown dog on the head. Ino then stared at the maimed flower and sighed. "I suppose it can't be helped..." she bent down to recover the flower. "I should throw this away. See ya, Dog Boy."

Right as she was about to enter the flower shop she stopped, "Oh, you wanted to tell me something?" She raised a curious eyebrow. "No uh, it's nothing. I'll talk to you later." Kiba waved goodbye and was soon out of sight. Ino sighed and went back into the flower shop, continuing her work.

---

Later, at Naruto's house. 

"Aw, come on, Kiba! You like her, admit it!" Naruto said aloud to his friend. "I DO NOT!" Kiba yelled. "Well, seems to me that she likes you." Naruto crossed his arms and smirked. "She-...really?" Kiba glanced toward Naruto. "Why else would she have visited you **every day** that you were in the hospital, eh?" The blonde shinobi said convincingly. Kiba looked at his feet, unsure of what he would do if it were true, if she really did like him. "AHAH, SO YOU DO LIKE HER." Naruto pointed an accusing finger at Kiba. "I NEVER SAID THAT." The Dog Boy yelled straight back. "I gotta go." he stated and left the house. "Nande? I keep making everyone leave..." Naruto sighed, disappointed.

**Well I hope you liked it thus far!**


	2. Mixed Feelings and Misunderstandings

**Sooo this is the second chapter to my KibaIno fic, hope you enjoy it!  
**

* * *

Ino was running a few errands for her parents in the market, she was looking in a shop window at a gorgeous Heart-shaped locket that peeked her interest. She knew she couldn't afford it though, with what her parents paid her, which was almost nothing, in her opinion. She sighed and continued walking, only to stumble over her own feet and fall into someone's strong arm. "Woah there, Blondie. Careful. You okay?" Ino looked up to see a smiling Kiba, who winked at her, holding her up with his good arm. Ino blushed furiously and stood up straight,"I-I'm fine. S-Sorry." She smiled nervously. And waved. "I-I gotta go. Bye!" with that, she ran off, hoping Dog Boy hadn't seen the red in her cheeks.

Kiba smirked as he watched Ino run from him. _Was she blushing?_ He wondered, _Is Naruto actually right?  
_

* * *

"I don't know why," Ino fumed, "But now when I get around him I start stuttering like Hinata!" she threw her arms in the air with frustration. "ah, no offense, Hinata." She sweat dropped and said to the shy and timid young Hyuuga girl. "I-It's alright, Ino-san." Hinata smiled softly. "With what you've told me so far, sounds to me that you like him." Sakura stated knowingly, smiling widely. "But I can't! He's 'Dog Boy', I mean, come on!" she yelled. "Me and Dog Boy? Unheard of." She crossed her arms and sat back down in her chair. Sakura, Hinata and her were all hanging out at the ramen shop. "Besides, he would never like me back, even if I did, WHICH I DON'T." She stated loudly. "He only thinks of me as "Blondie" or "Princess" and all those other names." Ino mumbled as she rested her chin in her hand lazily.

"The only way to find out if that's true, is to tell him." Sakura said softly. "If you really do like him, you won't let it go so easily, Ino. You're strong willed and hard-headed. You'll find a way." The pink haired girl laughed.

* * *

Dark rain clouds formed above Konoha as Ino made her way back home. She didn't mind the rain, in fact, she quite enjoyed the feeling of the small drops against her skin.

Ino could say she was afraid of almost nothing, but lightning and thunder were the two things that frightened her to no end. She hurried home, hoping she could get back before the thunder kicked in. She looked back up at the sky, and to her dismay, lightning flashed through the darkening clouds as thunder roared and could be heard anywhere throughout the village. She jumped with a start and began to run down the muddy road as fast as her tired legs would take her.

She had only been about half way to her house, and she was drenched from then rain, her heart pounding wildly from fright. When she looked to her right, she saw a familiar house. Soon enough she was in front of the door, pounding loudly on it. She knew the rest of his family was out of town on a mission, and honestly didn't care if she bothered him at the moment.

"Blondie? What are you doing here?" Came the questioning voice of the Inuzuka boy who'd just opened the door, staring at the soaked Ino.. Thunder crashed and Ino jumped and immediately ran to him, burrowed her face in his chest and clung to his shirt. Kiba's eyes widened in surprise as he stared down at the girl. "I-Ino?"

"Please, Kiba. Don't make me leave." She pleaded, her voice cracking. "Ino, what's wrong?" he asked, leading her to the couch and sitting down with her still clutching to him. When a flashed of lighting was seen through the window and thunder crashed again, she clung tighter to him. _I guess that answers my question..._ he thought and sighed, "You're afraid of thunder..." he softly said, smiling slightly down at the drenched blonde girl. A small nod was her only reply as she sobbed quietly into his chest. Kiba awkwardly wrapped his arms around Ino, not taking much notice to the fact that she was getting him and his couch damp.

Eventually, the thunder stopped, but still, looking out the window at the rain pouring down hard, both of them knew that Ino would catch a cold if she left during the storm.

"T-Thanks for letting me use some clothes, K-Kiba..." Ino shivered as the boy handed her some to change into and out of her own soaked clothes. "Uh, no problem." he said while scratching his head. "Can't just let you freeze and catch a cold. I guess while you change, I'll make some hot cocoa." he shrugged and walked into the kitchen.

_Kiba's never been so nice to me before..._Ino thought as she entered the bathroom. She came out wearing his black sweats and a gray t-shirt. She sat back on the sofa and took in the scent of Kiba's clothing. _He smells so good..._ she breathed in the sensation deeply. _What am I thinking? I don't like Dog Boy! Sakura is NOT right!_ She paused and got up as Kiba walked into the room with a tray of hot cocoa. "Here, drink it." he commanded with an awkward expression. Seems that he really wasn't used to tending to guests. Ino chuckled at the thought. He was trying, at least.

They sat and talked for a moment as she drank her hot cocoa. Both not really knowing what to say most of the time, however. Kiba stood up as Ino shivered. "You're still cold, I'll get a blanket." He walked out for a minute, then back in with a box of blankets in his arms, struggling with it, considering his left arm was injured, making it lower in the useful department. Apparently there were options, Ino let out a small laugh and shot up, "Here, I'll help you with that." she said as she made her way toward him.

To her dismay, she stepped on a wet part of the hardwood floors and slipped, falling straight onto Kiba, knocking the blankets out of his arms. They both toppled to the floor, Kiba on top of her. She blushed furiously as her loose, towel dried hair fell all over. "I am so sorry!" she gasped. "Are you alright? I really should be more caref..." She paused when she looked at Kiba's face, which stared back at her with wide eyes, both hands on either side of her head, holding himself up to where he wasn't squishing her, but close enough for her to feel flushed and nervous. Kiba's senses came back to him and he quickly stood up, his face feeling hot.

"Uh, yeah, it's cool. Um, you can have my room. It's the first door on the right when you get up the stairs. I'll take the couch." He said quickly, extending a hand out to help Ino up, who accepted it and Kiba lifted her easily from the ground. She nodded and walked up the stairs, her face still red.

As she layed her head down on his pillow, she was still undoubtedly embarrassed.. It felt awkward for her to be sleeping in Kiba's bed, but still, she enjoyed the scent that surrounded her, which this time, she couldn't help but breathe in.

Downstairs, Kiba was laying on the couch, staring up at the ceiling with a hand under his head, the other on his stomach. He had mixed feelings for Ino. Sometimes she annoyed him to no end, and sometimes he felt like he never wanted her to leave. Whether he liked her, or whether he didn't, he wasn't sure at all. He groaned and slapped his own forehead. _Stop thinking, Kiba. You might hurt yourself.  
_

* * *

The very next morning. Ino awoke, at first not knowing exactly where she was, but then remembering the night before. She blushed when she recalled Kiba's face so close to hers. She made her way to the window sill, where her own clothes had been drying. She were no longer wet, so she changed back into them. She crept down the stairs, hoping Kiba was still asleep so she could leave without being any more of a burden.

In the living room, Kiba was sprawled out on the couch, still snoozing. A smile crept on Ino's lips._ He looks kinda cute when he sleeps..._ she thought, but shook it out of her mind, heading for the door, but took one last look at the boy. _Thanks Dog Boy...you always seem to be there when I need you, regardless of how stupid the reason. _"Like being afraid of a little thunder..." she mumbled to herself when she left the house.

* * *

Naruto punched Kiba in the arm as they walked down the road together. "Shikamaru tells me he saw Ino leave your house this morning while he passed by." he said suggestively. "Somethin' goin' on between you two?" he raised his eyebrows, smiling. Kiba jerked his head to face Naruto, "NO, she was...just...picking something up from my house. Yeah, that's what she did." He said, knowing it would give the hyperactive blonde boy the wrong idea if he told him that Ino stayed the night at his house. Naruto crossed his arms, "Uhuh...right, and what exactly was she picking up?" Kiba stopped in his tracks, "What is this, twenty questions? Get off my back, Uzumaki!" he grunted angrily and walked away

* * *

Ino was working at the flower shop that day, when Sakura stomped in, glaring straight at the blonde. "Ino, did you _do something_ with Kiba??" She accused. Ino just raised an eyebrow. "_Do something?" _she asked, confused, "What do you mean?" Sakura rolled her eyes and sighed, "I mean _do something_. Something like, oh I dunno, make out, sleep with him? I mean you were at his house all night, after all." she shrugged, then glared again, "Right?"

Ino's expression was one of surprise and anger. "What?" she yelled rather loudly. "No!" she shook her head with disgust. "Really? But-" Sakura began but Ino cut in. "Who told you that?!" she boiled with anger.

"Well...Naruto told me that Kiba said -" Sakura started nervously before Ino interrupted her. "DAMNIT, DOG BOY." she yelled and stomped out of the flower shop, ready to murder the Inuzuka boy mercilessly.

* * *

**Personally, I don't think this chapter was as good as the last. But I'll try and do better in the next chapter. Promise.**

**R&R please!**


	3. The Pain of a Simple Bluff

**The Third chapter to my KibaIno fic! I'm really really sorry I took so long to get this out! I've just been so busy for a while and I've been neglecting this fic! Please forgive me??  
**

* * *

Kiba was minding his own business, walking through the market place of Konoha when out of nowhere, a fairly large rock was flying straight toward his head. He quickly moved his head out of the way to dodge it, then quickly looking to where the object came from, and see a very angry looking Ino making her way to him. "What the hell, Ino?!" he straightened and pointed to where the stone went flying, "That could have knocked me unconscious!" he fumed. 

"That was the idea!" Ino yelled back. "What the hell did you say to Naruto, Dog Boy?!" She pointed an accusing finger at him. "Nothing! What are you talking about?" He replied, confused, yet still angry that she tried to murder him with a rock. "How could you?!" She glared, now standing in front of him. "I thought you were different from all the other guys I've known!" She muttered through clenched teeth. Kiba, absolutely confused as to what the hell she was getting at, could see that Ino's eyes had a hint of pain in them. Before he could respond, she cut in, "I actually may have liked you, Kiba." She looked at the ground. Her anger seemed to have extinguished and turned to hurt. "Or rather, who I _thought_ you were."

With that, she turned on her heel and walked away quickly, leaving a completely clueless Kiba to stare after her in confusion. "She...liked me? But what the hell did I do?" He said aloud to himself.

* * *

Later, at Ichiraku Ramen, Ino was sitting alone, twirling her noodles around subconsciously. _I thought he was different...I thought he was a nice guy. I can't believe I almost let myself fall for a disgusting dog like him._

Speak of the devil, she spotted Kiba and Naruto pass by the shop. She glared hard and long at Kiba as he walked. He simply glanced over at her, and looked away, as if she wasn't even there. _What the hell? Now **he's** the one ignoring **me?** Damnit. _"Well two can play at that game. If he's going to act like he doesn't care. Than so am I." She said with determination. A plan was already forming in her mind. She would test and see if Dog-Boy ever even liked her while also making him angry.

* * *

Shikamaru yawned as he lay down on a hill, staring up at the cloudy sky. "Oi, Shikamaru! Shikamaru!!" Someone called. The lazy shadow-nin groaned. There's only one person who would bother him at this time of day, and most likely to ask a bothersome favor. He sat up and narrowed his eyes at said person. "What is it, Ino...?" A hint of annoyance could be heard in his voice. "Shikamaru, we're close friends, right?" Ino stated innocently while putting her hands behind her back timidly. "Yes..." He mumbled, knowing that no good would come out from whatever she was getting at. "And friends do things for other friends...Right?" She nodded in anticipation. "I guess..." He rubbed the beck of his neck. 

"Since we're close friends...Will you pleeaaaseee do me a huuuge favor?" She smiled sweetly and fluttered her eyelashed. "I don't see why you need to go through the process of acting innocent, Ino. I know you're not. It's way too troublesome Now what do you want me to do?" He narrowed his eyes and raised an eyebrow. Ino sweat dropped. She'd been doing that for years. Why didn't he just tell her earlier? "Well...you see...I have to um..." She stammered.

"I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend so I can make Kiba jealous." She forced out quickly. Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome. So do you like him? The Inuzuka kid?" he smirked. "No! It's not like that! I'm just trying to get to him, ya know? As revenge." She said quickly. Too quickly. "Yeah...let's go with that..." she mumbled and smiled. Shikamaru sighed again. "Mendoi, Ino..." Of course she was lying. And he knew that.

"Pleeaaseee, Shikamaru?" She begged and he sighed. "Fine. I'll do it. But you owe me, Ino." He narrowed his eyes into a glare. Ino smiled widely and practically tackled him to the ground. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Shikamaru sighed again, but smirked slightly this time. "Troublesome girl..."

* * *

Ino and Shikamaru were sitting in Ichiraku Ramen while the blonde kunoichi was briefing the lazy shinobi on their "mission," or so she called, "operation; piss off the mut." Shikamaru groaned and told her that name was lame. And it was sad that they even had a name for it in the first place. I bruised arm was a gift from Ino to Shikamaru after that, causing him to change his mind. 

"So when you spot Kiba, just go along with what I say, alright? And act like you're completey _smitten_ with me." She said, fluttering her eyelashes and trying to look sweet. Shikamaru muttered something under his breath. "What was that?!" Ino said, her eyes ablaze with angry flames. "Nothing, mendokusee..."

Then, for the second time that day, she spotted Naruto and Kiba walk by the shop and stop for a second, saying something to eachother.

"Now's our chance!" Ino whispered. She laughed loudly, and flamboyantly fake. "Ahahahah! You're so **funny** Shikamaru! I'm so glad I decided to do on this **DATE** with you!" She said aloud. But to no avail, Kiba didn't notice they were inside.Ino clenched her fists in anger and growled, only to try again. "HAHAHA! You're so **FUNNY**. I'm so glad you're my **BOYFRIEND** now, **Shikamaru**! I'm so totally and completely IN **LOVE** with YOU!" She practically yelled. And inwardly cheered as Naruto pointed in their direction and Kiba turned, his eyes widened, almost in shock, as soon as he saw them.

"Oi, isn't that Ino and Shikamaru?" Naruto inquired. "Are they an item now?" He wondered, not noticing Kiba's clenched teeth and closed fists. His long canine-like nails were digging sharply into his own palm. "I guess so..." Kiba muttered angrily. "You okay, Kiba?" Naruto looked at him questioningly. Kiba snapped out of his frustration. "Uh, yeah I'm fine. Why don't you go ahead...I'm going to um, get a drink nearby. Parched. Eheh." He said slowly, having to think hard on every word he was going to say. Thankfully Naruto wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, so he believed him and said his goodbyes before continuing down the road. He hid behind the entrance wall to get a closer look at Ino. She was on a date with...Shikamaru?

"It's working." She whispered to Shikamaru. "He's spying on us." She said with glee. "Now say your line."

"..."

"Say it!" Ino nudged Shika hard in the side, causing him to gasp in pain. "Ah...mendoi..." He grumbled and regained his composure, before saying aloud. "Yes. Me...Too Ino. I'm so _smitten_ with you, it... hurts. I'm out of breath from your unbelievable beauty." He said rather obviously fake.

"What a damned _sap._" Kiba whispered to himself. "I thought Ino _liked_ me...I just don't get it. The way she acted...and now..." he muttered through still clenched teeth. "But she did get mad at me...could this be...to make me jealous?" His eyes widened. "No...it couldn't be. She probably just...never liked me in the first place." His face softened in an expression of disappointment, rather than of anger as he stared at the ground. He noticed what he was doing. "Stop it, Kiba." He whispered to himself. "If she doesn't like you, she doesn't like you. No reason to get angry if she's with someone else..." His face held a slightly pained expression. He moved away from the wall and began walking down the road towards his home.

"Shika, he left. We can stop." Ino said as she looked behind her. "Thanks."

"Oi, Ino. Are you sure you feel good about this? I mean, it's one thing if he's slightly jealous, but what if you hurt him?"

"You talk too much, lazy ass. I don't want to think about that. What's done is done. And I'm glad my plan worked out well." She said, unsure of herself as she walked out of the shop. Shikamaru simply sighed and shook his head. "Mendokusee..."

* * *

**Okay, so that's the end of chapter 3! I'm writing the next one as I speak! err, type! Hope you liked it! And once again, I apologize that it took me wayyy too long to get this one out!**

* * *


	4. Never Felt Before

**Alas! Chapter 4! wheee...  
**

* * *

"Ohayo, Kiba-kun." Sakura waved and smiled at the Inuzuka boy when she spotted him walking through the village. "Ohayo, Sakura...Oi, do you know why Ino's so mad at me? I don't even remember doing anything to piss her off at all." Kiba asked her. Sakura looked thoughtful. "I think I do know why. Because Naruto told me that you two, you know...did _that_. And, fuming, I stomped into the flower shop to question her about it..." She said with a guilty expression. "And Naruto kinda told me that _you_ told him...so I kinda told _Ino_ that it's what _you_ said..." 

Kiba's eyes widened, "So she's mad at me over a stupid misunderstanding? Ah, damn it. Whatever. I don't need to deal with her."

"But you do...Hokage-sama assigned you a mission a few days ago, remember? And she said you could pick one person to bring with you...You said Ino. And you're supposed to be leaving in about...an hour.."

The memory hit Kiba. "Damn it. I did pick her, didn't I..."

"Do you want me to talk to her?" Sakura offered. "I feel kinda bad..."

"Nah. There's no reason to fret it. It's too late. We both know that Ino's stubborn. It's harder to move her than it is an enormous boulder..."

* * *

"Ino!" A certain pink-haired medic-nin called out to her as she ran down the road. "Oi, what is it, Sakura?" Ino stopped in her tracks while walking back to her family's flower shop. "Tsunade-sama is assigned you for a mission! She told me to gather you and your partner to leave." Ino raised an eyebrow. "A mission? Hai, I understand" She nodded. Sakura raised her hand and put up her index finger. "Oh, and one more thing. Do you know where Kiba-kun might be?" Ino's eye twitched. "Why...?" 

Sakura sweat dropped. "He's your partner.. um, if you don't mind me saying. You shouldn't be so hostile toward him. Last I checked you were in love with him." The pink haired girl smirked. That was it. Ino snapped. "I was NEVER in love with him! I never even liked him! I surely detest Inuzuka Kiba! And you should know! You're the one who told me-"

"Umm, Ino." Sakura smiled with a sweat drop and pointed behind the blonde girl.

She could feel a presence behind her. She heard a familiar voice talk through clenched teeth. "Huh... Is that so? Well thanks for telling me that now, Ino. That I requested _you_ to be the one to go on this mission with me..." Ino turned on her heel, and there he was, the very boy that she'd just admitted to hating. "Yeah, well, Dog Boy, you should've thought harder on who to bring with you." She crossed her arms and made a loud "hmph."

"I'm already regretting it...Let's go." Kiba said plainly and turned to walk toward the village's main gate.

Sakura and Ino walked together, far behind Kiba. "Ino, remember what I said to you in the flower shop the other day..."

"Yeah, that bastard Kiba was spreading rumors that I slept with him." Ino said with disgust. "Well...That was kind of just a misunderstanding...See, Kiba told Naruto that nothing happened, but Naruto didn't believe him, apparently, and told me...that something _did_ happen." Sakura said, hoping Ino wouldn't get angry.

"Is that so..." Ino said thoughtfully. "Well it's too late now. Like hell I'm going to admit to Dog Boy that I was wrong and apologize. Besides. You can tell. He doesn't care. He doesn't care about me. Not that I'm angry, or about what I did..."

"Ino, what did you do?" Sakura questioned. "Nothing. It's not important anymore." She grimaced. It was not going to be fun going on a mission with an angry, irritated, and/or jealous Kiba.

* * *

When they reached Konoha's main gate, Sakura waved them goodbye and headed back towards the Hokage mansion, where she came from. 

As soon as they left, it was completely silent between them. Until Ino realized something.

"Kiba..."

"What, Ino?" He asked in a slightly annoyed tone.

"You never briefed me on our mission." She smiled awkwardly. "Oh, right... Members of the Akatsuki group were said to be spotted in a fishing village in the tea country. No one knows where they were headed, but we're going to that fishing village to see if we can find any trace of them." Kiba stated sternly. "Akatsuki...We're...Does that mean..." Ino began.

"No, we're not going to track them down ourselves." He cut in, "We're just gathering information about where they might be now, and we'll go right back to Konoha to tell Tsunade-sama what we find, if anything..." He added.

"Ah, I see..." Ino nodded and said nothing further, until they stopped to make camp when it got dark.

* * *

"I find it absolutely revolting that I'm forced to share a tent with a _dog_" Ino complained as Kiba attempted to light a fire. 

"Aw, come on. Akamaru's not that dirty..." He consoled.

"I wasn't _talking_ about _Akamaru._" Ino said with disgust, crossing her arms. Kiba's eye twitch in anger. "What the hell is wrong with you, Ino?" he stood up and clenched his fists. "One second you're nice and, hard to believe, a good friend. And the next you're acting like...like _this!_" He exclaimed angrily, pointing at the blonde. Ino's expression turned from disgust to a moment of shock, then to anger. "And what is '_this_', exactly, Kiba?" She asked, attitude beaming from her person. "You're bossy, you're picky, and just...everything I can't think of that describes a _terrible_ person!" He spoke through clenched teeth, eyebrow twitching. "It's no wonder why you could only get one _lazy ass_ guy! Every other guy is completely apalled at your personality!" He tried to give himself an excuse to turn his jealousy into anger.

Ino looked shocked for the second time. She didn't know why his words hurt her so much. But they cut into her like a knife. "I wasn't aware that you thought so low of me" She said, fists closed hard and her eyes stung, tears threatening to let loose. "And for your information, I've had alot of offers to dates. I just turned them all down. And Shikamaru's not my boyfriend." She muttered. "I only pretended to date him to make you jealous." She admitted, a bit ashamed. Kiba's eyes widened in surprise at her words, and her tears.

"I'm waiting for the right guy to come along as my first boyfriend. And I thought maybe that guy could be _you._" She forced out. "But I guess I was wrong." She whispered bitterly and turned on her heel, running into the trees. Leaving Kiba behind. "Wait, Ino!" He called. But to no avail. She was already too far away to hear him.

* * *

Ino continued to run through the dark woods when she tripped and fell next to a river. The tears fell freely then. She didn't pay attention to the scratches she had all over her body from brushing against branches. "Ino!" She heard Kiba call from in the trees nearby. Ino, on her knees, lowered her head so that when he came, he wouldn't see her cry. She gripped onto the grass next to her and tried to stop her own sobbing. 

"Ino..." Kiba said softly, as he kneeled down in front of her. She turned her head away sharply and bit her lip, stopping the tears and holding them back. Though it was impossible, of course, to make the tear stains on her cheeks vanish. "Ino...I didn't mean it."

"Yes you did!" She turned her head to face him, glaring hard and cold into his eyes. "I'm a terrible person! I know it! I'll give you an example. I pretended to date Shikamaru to make you jealous. Even though I may not have, I _could_ have hurt you! And I didn't think about it, because I wanted to!" She said aloud as tears began to flow once again. "I wanted to hurt you! Because if I hurt you then I would know that you cared... But half of me knew that you wouldn't." She didn't dare look him in the eye. "And you didn't..." She clenched her fists, which were now resting on her thighs as she sat on her knees. "You didn't care." She whispered and looked down, tears falling on her hands.

"Ino, you're not a bad person. I'm really sorry. I only said that because..." Kiba sighed, "Because I _was_ jealous. And I _did_ care that you were supposedly going out with Nara." He put his hand under her chin and lifted her head up to face him. "And it _did_ hurt, Ino." He smiled softly. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Ino's cold eyes glared and she turned her head away again, refusing to look him in the eye. "It just proves that I really am a terrible person." She muttered, eyes stinging again. "Ino," Kiba put a hand on her cheek and moved her head to face him again. "It hurt because I _like _you." He smirked.

Ino's face reddened, and now held an expression near to that of shock. Her hypothesis was that if she could blush any harder, her head would most likely explode. "...You do?" She asked quietly. Still not believing what she had just heard.

"Yeah...I do." He said awkwardly and took his hand away. Standing up and offering her a hand to help her up. She took it, still blushing. His eyes narrowed when he noticed all of the scratches on her arms and legs. Shaking his head, he lifted her with ease. "Look at all these scratches. Are you all right? Don't be so careless next time you decide to run off into the woods in the middle of the night." He chuckled and grabbed her hand to lead her back to the camp site. Ino blushed as red as a tomato and nodded timidly. "G-Gomen..." Why was it so hard for her to choke a simple word out? She inwardly scolded herself. She was never once nervous around a guy, let alone Kiba. Not even her first crush, Uchiha Sasuke, made her nervous. Why should this be any different?

* * *

**So there ya go! I thought I owed it to you guys, since it took so long to get chapter 3 out, to at least post another chapter within 2 days:)**

**I had no idea that people were actually waiting in anticipation for me to update it...lol. :  
**

**My apologies, if it's written kinda hastily, and if it might not make a full amount of sense. You see, it's about 1 in the morning right now... :/ **

**Oh, and btw, I hate the word, "chuckle" lol...**

**I shall get chapter 5 out at soon as possible:) **

* * *


	5. Start Of Something New

* * *

**Chapter five! ;) **

* * *

When the pair had finally finished their mission. The only information they could possibly get was that the Akatsuki were heading somewhere in the direction of the Wind Country. At least it was something, though. Of course, they reported to Tsunade with their findings. 

A few weeks to the day, and Ino and Kiba were inseparable. Though they weren't at all dating, they were very much aware of each other's feelings. And by the way they acted around each other, they made everyone _else_ aware of their feelings, as well. "Oi, Hinata. What's up with Kiba and Ino? Are they an _item_ now?" He asked the shy kunoichi, scooting closer to her on a bench so he could whisper. She blushed uncontrollably and stammered. "Um, I-I, don't think so. They're just r-really good friends, I b-believe?" she reddened and touched her two index fingers together timidly. "_Good friends_, you say? Well they certainly do spend enough time together for people to assume they're dating." He laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "N-Naruto-kun, I-"

"Oi, Hinata! I'm starving. Why don't you come to Ichiraku Ramen with me, and I'll treat you to their best!" He smiled widely. The shy Hyuuga girl nodded slowly, "W-Well I suppose I can-"

"Great! Come on!" Naruto grabbed her hand gently and dragged her down the road. _N-Naruto-kun's holding my hand._ Hinata thought and felt feint. Hoping she wouldn't pass out. She wanted to savor the moment and hold onto it forever.

* * *

Ino and Kiba were walking through the market, when he noticed something in a familiar store to their left. "Oi, Ino. Wait here. I have to get something." He said quickly. "What do you need to get?" Ino raised an eyebrow. 

Kiba scratched his head sheepishly, "uh, a necklace for my mom. Yeah, that's it. It's her birthday soon. So I'll be right back." Ino smiled. "That's sweet of you. Want me to help you pick it out?"

"No!" He said, almost yelling. "I mean, nah, I want it to be, uh, personally picked out by me. To make it more special, ya know?" He tried to say coolly and immediately walked into the store, coming back out a few minutes later with a small, dark purple velvet box. "Okay. I've got it."

"Can I see it?" Ino reached for it. But Kiba jerked it away. "No! I mean, uh, not right now. We're in a hurry, remember? To go...to the park? So we should go now!" He said awkwardly, putting the box in his pocket and grabbing her arm, dragging her in the direction of the park.

Ino raised her eyebrows. "You're acting really weird, Kiba. Maybe you shouldn't have eaten that suspicious looking sushi earlier." she laughed as he continued to pull her. She looked at the sky and noticed dark rain clouds hovering over the village. _Looks like it's gonna rain..._ She thought.

When they arrived at the park, they came upon the bottom of a small hill. "I'll race ya to the top." Kiba challenged. "You're on." Ino said with a determined expression. "Okay... on three." They both nodded. "One...GO!" Ino yelled and took off up the hill as fast as her legs could take her, giggling the whole time. "Oi! You're cheating!" Kiba yelled, laughing, and began to run as well. He was much quicker than her so he was catching up to her in almost no time. Ino looked behind her when she was almost up the hill. Kiba was only about a foot behind her. He grabbed her arm just as she made it up the hill. "I win! I-" She stopped when Kiba fell, dragging her to the ground with him. They rolled down the hill together about a quarter of the way. Kiba landed on top of her, both hands on either side of her head, holding himeself up. Just then, rain began to sprinkle down on all of Konoha. Ino blushed and smiled timidly. "I can't help but get the feeling of deja vu." She giggled; remembering they'd been in this same position a while back, on the day of what was reported to be the worst thunder storm the village had gotten in a while.

Kiba stared at her with an odd expression that she couldn't read. What she didn't know was he was arguing with himself inside on whether to make a big decision in that moment. _Just do it...What do you have to lose? **Your friendship, if she rejects you.** Okay, okay. I get it! _He inwardly yelled.

"Kiba? Wh-" She was cut off by his lips pressed against her own. Her eyes widened in surprise and she blushed furiously. She definitely wasn't expecting that. It was her first kiss. Kiba pulled away quickly, looking slightly embarrassed, blushing excessively. Looking to his right, he began to push himself off of her. "I'm sorry I just...-" He began, but he cut his words off when Ino grabbed onto his shirt and yanked him down close to her, locking her lips with his. He smiled against her lips, relieved to find she wanted the same thing he did. He deepened the kiss and she ran her fingers through his damp and messy brown hair, still clutching his shirt.

Neither of them, of course, cared if anyone saw them. Not paying attention to the fact that it would make people slightly uncomfortable to see two teens making out in the rain. They figured no one would be taking strolls through the park anyways; it was raining, after all.

They were dead wrong.

"Oi! Hinata, don't those people look an awful lot like Kiba and Ino?" A distant voice yelled through the now almost pouring rain. "N-Naruto-kun. I think that _is _them." Another much quieter voice said.

Kiba and Ino immediately parted and blushed furiously as they watched Naruto running up the hill toward them, Hinata a few feet behind. As soon as Naruto could see them close enough to recognize them he started laughing histarically. "Naruto-kun. Calm down." Hinata said timidly. Kiba and Ino snuck away while the other two were distracted, Naruto rolling on the floor laughing and Hinata quietly trying to get him to stop.

* * *

Neither Kiba nor Ino, both now almost dry since the rain let up, said a word after the Inuzuka boy insisted her walk her home. When they arrived on her doorstep, she turned. "Well, thanks for walking me home." She smiled and turned to open the door. Until, an idea hit him. "Wait, Ino." He grabbed her arm and locked her into another kiss. Bringing a disposable camera up beside them, and taking a picture. Ino pulled away and blushed. "What's the picture for?" She raised an eyebrow, now irritated. "You'll see." He smirked and walked away. Ino looked angrier by the second. "Damnit, Dog Boy! If it's proof to be able to brag to all of your friends, you're a dead man!" She yelled. He didn't turn, but kept on smirking as he walked down the road. 

Ino growled in aggrivation and stomped into her house and right up to her room. Though she knew she wouldn't stay mad at him.

* * *

The next afternoon, Ino was sitting on a bench in the park. It was a nice afternoon, as opposed the the previous day. But she couldn't lie to herself, she did enjoy the environment, and the...events that took place at the time. 

"Oi! Ino!" She looked to her left to see none other than the boy she was thinking of, and his dog, Akamaru. She smiled and blushed when he made his way toward her. He smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Umm, Ino. You heard about the traveling faire that's in town, right?" He asked with an odd expression. "Yeah...?" She replied expectantly. "Well, you see. I hear there's gonna be all kinds of rides and it's real fun. Some of people are going. But, umm...they're all going in couples. Like a triple, kind of." He continued on awkwardly. "Kiba...Get to the point." Ino giggled. "You're rambling."

"Right. Uh. You see, Ino...Um, do you want to...accompany me to the fair and we'd be that third couple?" He asked quickly, half expecting to be shot down.

Ino smiled at Kiba as she pet Akamaru, now an awfully big dog, who was sitting on the floor by her legs, wagging his tail. "Of course I will!"

"Really?" Kiba said, relieved. "Duh. I'm not gonna kiss you and then suddenly decide I don't like you any more. That was my first kiss, after all." She said, slightly embarrassed.

The doggish boy smiled, showing his fangs. "Great! You won't regret it! It'll be all sorts of fun!" He said, grinning from ear to ear. "Come on, Akamaru." He said, "See ya tonight Ino. I'll pick you up at 6?" Ino nodded. "Alright. See ya then." He smiled, winked and turned to leave.

* * *

Ino sat in her room, after she took a shower with her hair in a towel. She stood, staring at her closet full of many different types of clothes. "Let's see...what to wear..." Her arms were crossed as she inspected her wardrobe closely. "Ah, I've got it!" She said and went to the bathroom to dry her hair and apply her make up. She wore a light, pink, almost lip colored, gloss for a more natural look. She wore purple eyeliner and white, sparkling eyeshadow. 

Ino looked at the clock when she went down the stairs and into her living room. "Six o'clock. He should be here any second." She said to herself, with anticipation. She was wearing A purple knee length, flowy skirt, and a white tank-top that was a snug fit on her. She had on white flats, a bunch of bangle bracelets on, a long purple beaded necklace, and a shorter necklace with a star outlined with diamonds. Her hair was clipped up in a messy, yet stylish bun and her earrings were dangling stars with diamonds outlining them, like her necklace.

((A/N, I'm sorry if I suck at describing outfits and her make up...Never done it before. lol.))

Her mother came out of the kitchen, looking as cheerful as ever. "Oh, just look at you! You look absolutely adorable! You're first date..." she said with a bit of sadness. "You're growing up so fast." She sniffed and Ino rolled her eyes. "Oh, and don't worry. I sent your father on an errand so he doesn't harass the poor boy." She looked cheerful again.

When there was a knock on the door, Ino's heart jumped in anxiety. "It's him." Ino said nervously to her mother. "Go back into the kitchen, mom! I don't want you embarrassing me!" She whispered sharply to her mother and shooed her back into the other room.

Ino opened the door to a rarely dressed up Kiba. But it was different this time. He was wearing dark blue jeans and a lighter blue, long sleeved, collared shirt with white pin stripes. He cleaned up nicely, she thought.

He blushed when he saw her. "Wow, Ino...You look...Really pretty." He said, unable to stop staring at her. Ino reddened and smiled. "You don't look too bad yourself, Dog Boy." She closed the door behind her and gave him a peck on the cheek. He had an awkward expression scratched his head. One of his hands were behind him, holding something. "I uh, got you something. I know how you like these, so..." He revealed a gorgeous white lily and handed it to her. "Oh, thank you, Kiba! It's really pretty." She took it from his hand and brought it up to her hair, sticking it in her bun. "There. The perfect completion to my outfit." She smiled.

"Alright, well, let's go." Ino smiled, before taking Kiba's hand, and walking down the road toward the faire.

* * *

**Heheh, well there's chapter 5! The remainder of the date will be in chapter 6. :)**

**Please R&R!**

* * *


	6. The Date!

**Chapter 6: The Date! **

* * *

When Kiba and Ino arrived at the fair, Ino gasped happily. "It looks so exciting!" She had only been to a fair once in her life, and that was when he father took her when she was about four years old. 

Kiba smiled at her obvious pleasure. "Well let's make it more fun then. Come on." He took her hand and they began to walk together, when Ino spotted something. "Ooooh, Kiba, look! A roller coaster! I've never been on one before. I was too little the last time I was at a fair. Can we go on it, pleeaasee?" She pleaded as she hugged his arm. He let out an amused sigh. "Hai-hai, let's go on it, then."

She squealed with excitement and dragged him to the line of the roller coaster. When they got on, and the roller coaster was about to go down it's first and largest drop. Ino grinned from ear to ear, still hugging Kiba's arm and looked up at him.. She gave him a peck on the cheek, he looked down at her and smiled. As soon as they dropped Ino was squealing wildly in fear and entertainment. She decided that it was the most fun she'd had since the last time she was at one of these.

When the ride ended, Ino was disappointed, yet at the same time thankful to be back on solid ground. "That was SO much fun!" She yelled, practically jumping around from anxiety. Kiba had thought the only person that could have as much energy as she was displaying in that moment was Naruto. But when he did it was clearly annoying, but it was kinda cute coming from Ino.

"Wanna go on the ferris wheel next?" The Inuzuka boy asked. Ino nodded and he grabbed her hand.

As soon as they got on the colorful ferris wheel, a thought struck Kiba. "Oh, Ino, I almost forgot something." He muttered as the ride began to move, and their cart made it's way to the top. He pulled something out of his pocket, and to Ino's surprise, it was the small velvet box that he acquired the other day. "Kiba..."

"It's not my mom's birthday for another four months, Ino." Kiba offered her his doggish, half smile, which she found incredibly adorable. He opened the box and Ino gasped. "I saw you looking at this in a store way back when you tripped onto me." He said softly. Ino was shocked that he would remember, or even notice, such a small thing from so long ago. It was the locket that she was admiring that day!

The ferris wheel stopped when they were at the top. Kiba took the locket out of the box and Ino turned and lifted her hair as he put it around her neck. She touched the silver heart softly and opened it. She gasped. "This picture...so that's why..." She smiled. It was the unexpected picture he had taken while they kissed, after he dropped her off that rainy day. She closed it and looked up at Kiba. Only to leap at him, wrapping her arms around him tightly, causing the cart to rock a good amount. "Woah, Careful!" He warned, not wanting to fall or anything. He chuckled, wrapping his arms around her as well. They both admired the view of the entire fair from the top of the ferris wheel. "It's really pretty." Ino said in awe and looked up at Kiba. "Thank you, Kiba. For everything..."

* * *

"Ah, I almost forgot we're supposed to be meeting Naruto, Hinata, Tenten and Lee here." Kiba scratched his head after they got off of the ride. "They're supposed to be over at the food court area." 

Ino nodded and Kiba took her hand. They made their way to the food court, only to be stopped by a voice. "Oi, Kiba! Over here!" Naruto called and waved after coming off of a ride with Hinata, Lee and Tenten. "You guys took too long to meet us so we decided that if you finally ended up showing, we'd find you later." He said as the group made their way toward the pair.

"Well we're here now. What are we gonna do?" Kiba asked the normally hyper-active blonde boy.

"Well..." Naruto began, with a smirk on his face. "We could go in the tunnel of love." He said seductively, glancing toward Hinata, who was blushing furiously to a scarlet red.

"Yes. We must, and there I can continue to confess my undeniable love to my adorable and beautiful Tenten!" Lee shouted, throwing a fist in the air. Tenten's cheeks became pink and she giggled at Lee.

Naruto put an arm around Hinata and lead the way to the ride, while Lee was carrying Tenten bridal style, following quickly after them. Ino giggled. "They're all so cute together." Kiba glanced down at her. "You know...We look pretty good together too..." He said, cheeks pink, though you couldn't really tell, because of his red markings. Ino smiled and looked up at him.

"I know that already! That's why I'm here with you, silly." She chuckled. Kiba blushed to a red color and grabbed Ino's hand. "Come on. Let's go, before we lose them again." He said, walking quickly after Naruto and the others.

* * *

As soon as they got in line for the tunnel of love, they realized that there was a fence in between the male and female's line. And after they counted all of the people on each side, and arranged it the way they wanted it, asking people to move ahead, or back in the line, so that they may all sit with the people that they wanted, they finally got onto the ride. 

It was all much too mushy for Naruto, who soon got bored of the scenery in the tunnel, so he directed his attention fully to Hinata, who blushed to a light pink when she realized he was smiling at her. She was surprised when Naruto asked her to come here with him. She had thought he liked Sakura the whole time, by the way he hung out with the pink haired kunoichi with all of his spare time. She didn't ask him about it though. She was just happy to be there, in the tunnel of love, with her favorite blonde boy. He yawned and stretched his arms out, putting one arm around Hinata. Typical date move, she thought, but still, she blushed to a dark shade of red. She smiled with content and she rested her head on his shoulder.

Lee, very unlike Naruto, was admiring the decor in the tunnel. His eyes almost looked as though they would take the shape of hearts, as he stared in awe. "It's all so beautiful!" He shouted and threw his arms in the air in a cheer. Tenten sighed and crossed her arms, looking in the other direction. This caught Lee's attention quickly. "Almost as beautiful as my lovely and youthful Tenten!" He shouted, putting his hands together and bringing them up next to his face. "Whom I will love forever and ever, even if it takes me years to convince her to return my undying love!"

This made Tenten blush rather furiously. "Do you...truly love me, Lee?" She said weakly. "Of course! You're the best and most youthful thing to ever happen to me! Like a young flower in a beautiful, youthful meadow!" Tenten could have sworn she heard birds chirping as he said that. He scooted closer to her. Tenten smiled and swifty kissed Lee on the cheek, then quickly scooted further from him, looking away and blushing. Lee, determined, only moved closer to her, cupping her chin in his hand, turning her head to face him. She blushed to a scarlet red and could feel her heart racing. He gave her a small peck on the lips, and for once, didn't seem so hyper and energetic, one similarity that he has to Naruto.

Ino and Kiba sat rather awkwardly in silence as their boat floated on through the tunnel. Kiba stared at his feet, not paying much attention to the ride, while Ino looked around and softly began to hum along with the music that was playing throughout the entire ride. "Kiba, what do you think of love?" Ino stopped humming abruptly and asked calmly. Kiba's eyes widened and his face turned a deep color of red. He quickly began to stand up, rocking the boat and nearly tipping it over. "Calm down, silly! I'm not saying I'm in love with you!" She shouted, grabbing his arm and pulling him back down. "Oh," Kiba said, relieved. Yet slightly disappointed, in a way. He definitely wouldn't mind spending a lot more time with a girl like Ino. "Have you ever been in love, Kiba?" Ino said quietly, almost in a whisper as she looked in the opposite direction of where he was. "...No." He replied. Ino sighed and glanced at him. "I know this is an awkward conversation to have on a date, but you're pretty much my best friend right now. I only wonder what it feels like," She sighed. "To be in love. To where you can't stand being with a person, yet, at the same time, you can't stand being away from them. That's the kind of love that draws me the most. Where the infatuation is so strong to where the passion never ends. " She began to stare at her own feet. "But I wonder, sometimes, if I'll ever get to experience that kind of love, or any love at all, in fact..." She muttered quietly, to where he could barely make out what she was saying. The young Inuzuka boy had assumed that all of the hearts and lovey-dovey things in the tunnel had triggered those thoughts into her mind.

To Kiba's relief, the ride had stopped by then. He wouldn't have to try and come up with something to say to her, it might have been awkward, or stupid, knowing himself. He got out of the boat, holding out a hand to help Ino out. She gladly accepted it, still holding a blank expression on her face. She seemed to still be thinking about what she was talking about. Love. Was it even possible to love someone that you couldn't stand being with? He wondered. It seemed like a silly dream to him. But he knew that it seemed much more to Ino than just silly wishes. He was going to say something to her, to maybe brighten her mood a little, but before he could even open his mouth, he heard someone shout.

"Oi! Come on, Kiba! We're going to play some games!" It was Naruto's voice. He walked up to them, an arm around a blushing Hinata. "Lee and Tenten decided to leave the group and spend some time by themselves." He informed, noting that they might have wondered what happened to them."Alright. Sounds good to me." Kiba said, nodding and glancing down at Ino, who nodded as well.

By the end of the night, they four had separated into their own pairs when they exited the fair. They said their goodbyes and parted ways. Kiba and Ino walked in silence for several minutes before Ino broke it, "I had a good time tonight." Ino said, looked up at Kiba and smiling softly. "I'm glad." Kiba replied with a small smile of his own. "I really like the locket, and the bear." She held onto the locket around her neck with one hand, while she held a small white bear that Kiba had won her after playing the ring toss.

They arrived at Ino's doorstep soon afterwards and stood there for a few moments. "Thank you for taking me out tonight, Kiba. I had a lot of fun." She stared up at him and moved some loose hair behind her ears. "Me too. I'm glad you agreed to come with me. I like spending time with you, Ino." He said softly, his lips curved into a small smiled. Ino blushed at his words. "Well, I should get inside." Ino reached for the doorknob as Kiba began to walk away. She hesitated, "I forgot something." She said aloud to him, walking quickly down the steps to meet him. And just as he turned to face her, she gave him a soft kiss. "I'm infatuated with you, Inuzuka Kiba." She smiled when she pulled away, quickly running back up the steps and into her house.

Kiba smirked as he stood there, staring after her. "Same here, Ino." He said quietly, knowing full well that she couldn't hear him, before walking down the street towards his own house, humming, quietly, the same tune that Ino had in the tunnel of love.

* * *

Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out...

I've had a busy life lately. But alas! I've succeeded in writing the rest of this chapter! Be happy! Yay!

Sorry if it seems a bit rushed.


	7. Once A Cheater, And So On

**Chapter 7: Once a cheater, and so on.**

* * *

After the day of their date, everything seemed to be perfect. They had the perfect relationship, the perfect life, everything was going their way, and they were happy as can be. Inseparable, for weeks, as it had been already. Only in these weeks, they had finally been officially dating. Ino thought that things couldn't possibly get any better. But what she didn't think about, was if they would get worse. Kiba would have an unexpected visitor, as it seems.

---

"Kiba!" He heard his mom call. He growled and put a pillow on top of his head. He hated when his mom woke him up. She was so loud. He had woken up extra early that morning and left Ino a note attached to a white lily at her house. Then he went directly home and went back to sleep.

"Kiba, there's someone here for you!" She said much louder this time, through his door while she knocked on the wood rather violently. The Inuzuka boy groaned as he sat up in bed. He was wearing shorts, and threw a shirt on before opening his bedroom door. "Who is it, Ma?" He shouted down the stairs, to where his mother was now. "Someone I think you'll be happy to see!" She yelled up to him. The first person to come to his mind was Ino. And he looked terrible. He quickly changed into some normal pants and threw on his jacket. He looked in the mirror and grimaced, looking at his canine like teeth, and then glanced up to his hair. Messy, as usual. But there was never anything he could do about that. He looked like a nerd when he combed his hair, or so he thought.

He ran down the stairs, only to see someone very unsuspected. "Risa!" He stepped onto the bottom floor, eyes widened in pleasant surprise. Takeshi Risa, an old good friend, who'd moved to the Sand village, years ago. He remembered how he used to have a crush on her. She was a beautiful girl, with long, auburn hair and gorgeous dark blue eyes. Not to mention a figure that could kill, in the dark blue outfit that she was wearing. Of course, Kiba was no longer attracted to her. Or at least he thought so.

"Kiba!" Risa shouted and ran to the boy, pulling him into a tight embrace. "How've you been? Are things going well? There is so much I want to talk about!" Her words were fast as she pulled away and looked him over. "You've grown a lot." She smirked, winking. He couldn't help but get a warm feeling in his cheeks. "W-Well, yeah. It's been like three years, right?" He said, and nodded, answering his own question.

"Why don't you two go get something to eat at Ichiraku Ramen? You two have a lot of catching up to do." Kiba's mom gestured toward the door. "That sounds great. I'm starving." Risa said, smiling at Kiba, grabbing his arm and dragging him out the door.

---

Ino was walking with Hinata, spending the day with her. They hadn't hung out with just the two of them for a while, so Ino invited her to spend the afternoon with her. They looking for a place to eat at. "How about Ichiraku Ramen?" Hinata suggested and Ino shrugged. "I guess we could. Sounds good. I bet you just want to run into Naruto, don't you?" Ino teased, giggling when Hinata went red. "N-no. It's jus-"

"It's alright. We'll go there." Ino laughed at the shy and now slightly frustrated Hyuuga girl again as they made their way to the Ramen stand.

"You seem very happy, Ino." Hinata pointed out.

"Well, I suppose I am." The blonde giggled. "Kiba left me a note this morning, and guess what it said?"

Hinata just shrugged. "It said he loves me!" Ino grinned from ear to ear, and Hinata smiled softly. "I'm happy for you, Ino."

---

Risa scarfed down the Ramen that Kiba had ordered her. _She wasn't lying when she said she was starving, _he mused, observing her. When she finished happily, and glanced at him, he glanced away. She blushed slightly and cleared her throat. "Kiba, there's something I've been meaning to ask you about." She said. He acknowledged her words and direction his attention toward her. "Did you miss me, at all?"

"Well, to be honest. Yeah, I suppose. You were one of my best friends, after all." He replied casually.

"Well, I missed you. A lot." She stared at her empty bowl of Ramen. "I thought about you almost every day, Kiba."

Kiba felt a lump in his throat and he tried to swallow, but couldn't. What was she talking about? He didn't want to do anything that would get him into trouble.

Risa then quickly held Kiba's head in her hands and kissed him roughly. For a moment, he got lost in the kiss, and returned it. Then a certain blonde kunoichi's face flashed in his mind. Ino! He quickly pulled away from Risa. "Risa, I can't. I used to like you and everything. But it's not like that anymore. I have someone else now." He could see the disappointment appear on her face. "I'm sorry." He said quietly, and then noticed someone to his left.

Standing outside of the Ramen shop, was none other than Yamanaka Ino, standing next to Hinata.. She'd witnessed the whole thing, but evidently she didn't catch what Kiba had said to Risa after the seemingly everlasting kiss. Ino's eyes burned, tears threatening to unleash upon her cheeks. She quickly turned away and began to run, as fast as her legs could take her. Hinata looked completely distressed as she turned and ran after Ino.

"Ino! Ino, wait!" Kiba yelled as he got up, forgetting Risa was there, and left her at the Ramen stand to go and find Ino.

As she ran, everything seemed to spin about Ino, like she couldn't focus. She felt as though her world was crashing down. It felt like the longest she had ever run, when she knew, she'd only run about a block down the street. But it felt like an eternity. She had been running away, when all she wanted to do was run back, and listen to his reason. But what reason could he have to do be kissing another girl? He said he loved her! And she was going to tell him, the very next time she saw him, that she felt the same way, too. Her legs got tired after a little while, and Hinata finally caught up to her. "Ino..." She muttered, setting a hand on her shoulder. Ino pushed Hinata's hand away. "I'm fine!" She yelled, triggering the flood of tears that began to flow freely down her pale cheeks.

"Ino!" She heard someone call. She knew that voice, all too well. That Inuzuka bastard had the nerve to come after her after that! She looked around the area she was in, and spotted Shikamaru. And just as Kiba arrived a few feet from her. She turned to him and scowled, holding back her tears now, though a few managed to escape and roll down her face. "Inuzuka Kiba, we are through! I never want to see you again!" She yelled and stomped straight to the lazy Nara boy and grabbed him by his shirt, planting a hard kiss on his lips, causing him to get extremely flustered, and he turned a bright red.

"Ino I--" Kiba paused as soon as he witnessed the scene. He tightened his fists and clenched his teeth, feeling the anger raising in him self.

Ino immediately began to run again. Leaving a very angry Kiba, a flustered Shikamaru, and a confused and helpless looking Hinata.

Hinata's eyes then narrowed, and she seemed to muster up a certain boldness that no one had seen before. She trotted right up to Kiba, who looked a bit shocked to see Hinata looking so angry, and slapped him, hard, right in his face. His expression now turned to one of complete shock. "Inuzuka Kiba, what is wrong with you?!" Hinata yelled, "You tell her you love her, and then go off and do things like this?!" She glared hard at him, her voice quieted down, "I thought you were different than that." She looked ashamed to even be in his presence. "I am! _She_ kissed _me_!" Kiba defended. Hinata made a "hmph" noise, "Well it sure looked like you were kissing back!" She said and turned on her heel, walking away from him.

---

Ino sobbed uncontrollably into her pillow as she lay on her bed crying. How could he do this to her? Didn't he just, that day, leave her a note saying that he loved her? Was all of their relationship just some kind of joke?

She heard a knock on her door. "Go away." Ino yelled.

"Ino?" She heard a familiar, feminine voice call through the door. "Ino, it's Sakura." The voice continued as she opened the door and walked in. Ino still lay there, practically lifeless in her bed. "Hinata told me what happened."She said quietly as she sat on the bed. Ino sat up, tear stains and puffy, red eyes making it obvious she'd been crying for a while. "You deserve better, Ino." Sakura looked at her best friend, and old rival. She looked so hopeless. A few years ago she would have been happy to see this happen to Ino. She would have loved to rub it in her face that she wasn't good enough for a guy to keep her. But Sakura knew that would have been a lie. "No one I know is good enough for you." She whispered. It was the truth, in the pink haired girl's eyes. She still looked up to Ino, in a way. She'd always been so strong, so independent. And as Sakura grew, she became more like that. But Ino helped her get to where she was today, and she appreciated that. It pained her to see the blonde girl in such a condition.

Ino looked up, her blue eyes welling up with tears. She sniffed, "Do you really mean that?" She bit her lip, keeping herself from erupting in sobs again. "Of course. Ino, you're an amazing girl. And if Kiba can't see that enough, then he must be pretty stupid. He's already stupid, for doing something like that, and letting you go." Sakura replied with sincerity and gentleness. She rested her hand on Ino's. "You're going to be okay." She said softly. "Thank you, Sakura." Ino gave her a small smile before hugging her.

"I've seen and heard the last of Inuzuka Kiba." She muttered as they pulled away.

---

Kiba, in his own house, lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. _How could I be so stupid... I kissed Risa, completely forgetting about Ino..._ He thought about the blonde kunoichi, and wondered how he even forgot about her. To him, she was the most amazing thing to ever walk into his life. And now he was just going to let her walk right back out. There was nothing he could say to her as an excuse, because he didn't have one. He couldn't just tell he that he forgot. That would infuriate her even further. She obviously had no desire to be with him anymore, and she shouldn't, he knew, after what he'd done. He knew that he didn't deserve her. He never did. He knew that even though it may hurt, and he did _love_ her, he just was going to have to let Yamanaka Ino go.

* * *

**Well...I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter!**

* * *


	8. Someone Else's Arms

**Chapter 8: Someone Else's Arms **

* * *

**Nearly twelve months had passed** since Ino had talked to Kiba. If you had asked her, then, she would have told you that it was the longest, and most awkward year of her life. She ran into him several times, and he'd try to talk to her, but she would just make an excuse to leave. 

Soon after her sixteenth birthday, she began going out with Shikamaru. They seemed to have a good thing going on, but she continued to feel as though something was missing.

Naruto and Hinata were officially going out, as well, and they were so in love. They had the sweetest relationship, Ino had thought. It would be somewhat tear-jerking if they had ever been split apart somehow.

**Another year passed** after that. By then, Ino and Kiba had stopped speaking all together. On her seventeenth birthday, Ino saw Kiba making out with some girl he'd met that night. Shikamaru threw her a surprise party. She didn't mind when she saw that Kiba was there, because after two years, she figured holding a grudge would only harden her. She didn't care anymorem, anyways It had been a long time ago. There was nothing she could do about it. No sense in trying to change the past. Kiba became somewhat of a womanizer that year. Everyone noticed it. Each week he would have an arm wrapped around new girl. People started to talk. While some were concerned for him, others talked of him with disgust and bitterness. Those ones were more than likely the mothers of the girls whose hearts he broke, Ino had mused from time to time.

She once thought that she was one of those girls, whose heart was broken by the Inuzuka boy, but she was mistaken. She did love him. But she was never truly _in_ love with him; she managed to convince herself.

She noticed a great change in his personality in the last two years. He was much more arrogant now. Perverted, and a bit of a jerk at times. She wondered what went wrong with him. Why he had turned out like that. It was anyone's guess, really. He'd become so distant from everyone but his closest friends: Naruto and Shino. But even they didn't know how he turned out the way he was. Most of them didn't really mind though. He wasn't that bad, unless someone provoked his personality.

* * *

**Two months after her birthday**, Ino lay on her bed, it was midnight, and she couldn't sleep. With a frustrated groan, she sat up. Maybe, if she went on a walk, it would wear her down more, and she would get tired. She threw on some warm clothes, and exited her house. The season had just changed to winter, after all. It would be rather cold outside. As soon as she stepped outside, she shivered. She liked the winter, though. She loved the little things about it, like the way you could see your own breath when you exhaled, and the rainy days spent indoors wrapped up in a blanket, with a cup of hot cocoa in front of a fire. She breathed in the cool, crisp air as she began to walk down the street. 

She jumped when she heard a sharp whisper from behind her. She turned sharply on her heel, ready to and prepared to attack, when she bumped into someone's chest. She looked up, recognizing a certain canine-like half smile, fangs revealed. "Oh, Kiba! You startled me." Why he had been standing so close behind her, she hadn't a clue. She also wondered why he had been out alone at this hour._Probably just on his way home from partying with his lady friends…_ She figured.

He continued to smirk down at her. "Now what's a helpless little girl like you doing in the dark, empty streets of Konoha?" He teased.

"I could say the same to you." She narrowed her eyes, turning on her heel and beginning to walk away. To her slight annoyance, he followed, and walked beside her.

Evidently he didn't take the hint.

"I suppose I should accompany you. In case someone should grab you."

"My _Hero_." She replied sarcastically. "I can take care of myself, you know."

"With a figure like that," He whistled, "You're going to need a lot more than those tiny fists to fight off any bad guys."

She felt her cheeks warm slightly. Flustered, she looked away from him. "Don't flatter me with your pointless words." She said in a stern tone.

"Alright, alright. Just calm it down there, _Princess_. I didn't mean any harm." He defended.

_Princess._ She hadn't heard that nickname from his mouth since before they went out when they were fifteen. It was strange that he would use it now.

They walked in silence for a little while, until Kiba decided to break the silence.

"So-o…You still goin' out with Nara?" He asked, drawing the words out slowly.

"Yes. Happily. He's a great boyfriend." She said with sincerity.

Kiba had seemed a bit bothered by her words. "How great? I mean, what could a lazy guy like him offer _you?_" He said the last part of his sentence rather seductively.

"Loyalty." She replied quickly and bluntly, staring ahead as she walked.

She knew that it wasn't the kindest thing, to bring up such a thing from the past. But it had hurt her, and she had to admit, the scar was still there. Though Shikamaru was there to help her to heal it, she told herself.

"Loyalty?" Kiba raised a confused eyebrow, moving in front of Ino and walking backwards to face her. "What ever happened to that sand chick? Temari?"

"He's not interested in her any more. He's interested in me, and only me. You see, the difference between Shikamaru and other guys is, he doesn't let the girls of his past get to him, no matter how tempting it may be." Ino said, getting annoyed with the Dog that wouldn't go away. Even as she hinted at it, he seemed completely unfazed. That just goes to show that she made the right decision in pushing him out of her life. _He really never cared…_Ino thought, walking a bit faster and making her way around him.

Kiba stopped for a moment, and then walked to catch up with her. "Well where's the fun in that?"

Ino stopped walking, and Kiba stopped with her. She couldn't believe what she'd just heard. That moment made her rather glad she'd broke it off with him two years prior.

"Fun? Do you think being a womanizing man whore who cheats on all of his girlfriends is fun?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"It's strange. You seem to have grown up on the outside, but you've gotten even more immature on the inside!" She spat out.

"I'm going home. Goodnight, _Dog Breath._" She reverted back to an old nickname she had for him, as well.

Kiba stared after her as she walked away. "Night, Blondie." He said in a softer, out of his new character, tone. Though he knew she was too far away already, to hear him.

* * *

When morning came, Ino blinked as the sun rays shined down on her face. She stuffed her face into her pillow, wishing she didn't have to get up. But her parents were out of town, for what reasons, she didn't really care to know. They were always gone, lately. Though she didn't think much of it. Her dad was always very reluctant to leave her there alone. 

His exact words were, _"I can't leave my baby to all of the cruel, perverted men that are free to roam these streets!" _

She chuckled, as she got dressed, at the memory of him almost sobbing as they both left her to look after the flower shop on her own.

She put her hair up into a ponytail and tied her apron around her waste before she turned the shop's sign to the green "Open." Side. And then, she sat, and waited. It was never very busy at that time of the year. So she predicted it would be another long day. Just like every day for the last two weeks. She sighed and rested her chin in one hand as she sat at the register.

"Good morning, Ino!" Ino's expression brightened as she heard a friendly voice.

"Naruto! Good morning!" She smiled. "Buying something for Hinata again?"

Naruto had been the only frequent customer she'd had the entire season. Always buying flowers for Hinata. It was so sweet of him. They had an adorable relationship. Ino wished she could have the same thing. She had Shikamaru, of course. But, unfortunately, their relationship was almost that of a brother-sister one. Though she'd always deny it in her head, but deep down she knew that they didn't seem right together as a couple. Everyone else said otherwise, saying they looked "perfect" and "adorable" together. But Shikamaru never did anything absolutely adorable for her. They are always together, but it still seemed as though they were still best friends, and nothing more. She wondered if he felt the same way about it.

"Yup!" Naruto said happily as he picked a pretty flower and handed the money to Ino. That was another thing; he'd only buy her one flower at a time. He never went all-out and bought her dozens of roses. It was simple and sweet. She knew she was being selfish in wanting more from Shikamaru, so she shook the thoughts from her mind.

"Thank you!" Naruto called as the bell above the door rang he walked out.

A few hours passed and she'd gotten a couple more customers before it was finally time to close. She sighed and turned the sign to "Close" before taking her apron off, locking up and leaving the shop. It was already getting dark by that time, so she figured she would just head home. It was a Friday night, and everyone would be doing something but her. Shikamaru was out on a mission so hanging out with him wasn't an option. Hinata was obviously with Naruto. But then she thought of someone she hadn't really spent a lot of time with in a while. She picked up the phone when she got home and dialed Sakura's number.

"Hello?" Came the voice from the other line. Ino invited her to hang out and catch up at the ramen shop. "I'll see you at nine then." She hung up the phone and got ready.

The time soon came to leave and she left her house. On her way to the ramen shop, she passed an alley. She stopped when she heard a loud groan. Her curiosity catching up with her, she slowly made her way down the alley as she saw the figure of a man bent over the ground. Was he puking? She winced in disgust and managed to speak,

"Excuse me, but are you all right?"

She mentally slapped herself. Of course he wasn't all right. He was just previously, painfully hurling and coughing all over the ground! When he stood up, she recognized him immediately. She quickly regretted walking down that alley.

"I'm fine, _Princess_." Came the drunken voice of Kiba as he made his way toward her. She took a step back and grimaced from the aroma of alcohol that surrounded him. "I'm glad I ran into you, Ino." He muttered as he stumbled closer.

"I wanna talk to you." He mumbled slurred words as he nearly toppled over onto her, but managed to keep himself standing.

"You're drunk." Ino hissed. "You can speak to me when you're not intoxicated." She turned to walk out of the dark alley.

"No, wait!" He called, his words slurred because of his current intoxication, and grabbed her sleeve, falling over onto her. She caught him and somehow managed to keep both of them standing.

"I need to talk to you…" Kiba mumbled, almost inaudibly. Ino had to strain her ears to listen.

"You're in no condition to be having a conversation that won't be absolutely ridiculous." She said and propped him up, sighing. She felt rather awkward with his arm around her and both her arms around him to hold him up.

"Come on. Let's get you cleaned up and sober." She said, being his crutch as she took him to her house. Hanging out with Sakura would just have to wait.

As they made their way to her house, Kiba continued to mumble things that Ino couldn't make out.

He stared at her for a moment as they walked. "You're so pretty." He sighed.

"And you're drunk." She said while propping him up yet again, as he nearly fell over.

He laughed, and she winced, as she smelled the sour odor in his breath.

"I don't know why I ever let you go, Ino." His voice grew more serious. "You were everything to me."

For a small moment, she felt a strange pang in her heart pulling at it. "Well, then maybe you should have thought about that before you went behind my back with another girl." She said, remaining calm about it.

He continued to speak as though he were talking to himself. "I let her go…" He mumbled, "I forgot about her. I can't believe I could forget her." He scolded himself in a raspy whisper. "I miss her. I've always missed her." He muttered as he nearly passed out, but Ino successfully kept him awake by lightly slapping him a few times in his face, telling him to stay awake.

"I didn't even like Risa anymore. But she kissed me, and everything just went…blank."

_So that was her name._ Ino thought. _Risa…_The one that Ino apparently couldn't surpass back then.

As they arrived at Ino's house, she let him go for a moment and he sat on the steps in front of her door as he waited for her to unlock the door.

"Come on," she said as she helped him up and into her house. She let him wander around her living room as she walked to the phone.

In a drunken stumble, he managed to make his way to the couch. Right across from him, on the coffee table, was a frame with a picture of Ino in it. He picked it up and admired it for a moment.

"Hey, Sakura? It's Ino. I'm sorry, but I can't make it tonight. I ran into a drunk Kiba, and he's at my house." She sighed. Sakura said something on the other line.

"Well, I couldn't just leave him drunk in an alley way. Who knows what could have happened. I don't… - All right. Come on over if you want." She sighed again and hung up the phone.

When she walked back into her living room, Kiba had already fallen asleep on the couch, with a picture frame in his hand.

She took it from his sleeping form and saw what it was. She sighed and put it back in its proper place on the coffee table as she shook her head. She heard a loud knock at the door, and glanced quickly toward Kiba, who was still unconscious. No loud noise would wake him now.

She opened the door and greeted an anxious looking Sakura. "Did he do anything to you?" She looked panicked as she pushed her way passed Ino and into the house.

"Well…" Ino began. "No." Sakura shot her gaze to the blonde girl who rubbed her aching neck. Kiba was pretty heavy, what with all those muscles and everything.

"You hesitated." Sakura read right through her best friend.

"He didn't _do_ anything. But he did say a couple of things…" She stated.

"What kinds of things?" Sakura looked ready to render Kiba unconscious again as soon as he woke.

"It doesn't matter anymore." Ino shrugged. "Just some stuff about the past. It's all done and over with." She smiled reassuringly to her friend.

Sakura hesitated for a moment, but quickly calmed down. "Okay, but I'm staying the night, too." She demanded. "There's no telling what he'll do."

---

The next morning, Kiba woke up, having a huge hangover, and having no idea where he was, until Ino walked out of the kitchen with two mugs of coffee, followed by Sakura, who had her own mug.

Ino handed one of the cups to Kiba, who was a bit alarmed. "I didn't um, try anything…?"

Ino shook her head, reassuring him. He sighed with slight relief and sipped the coffee.

"Well, I gotta be somewhere." Sakura said and set her mug down on the table. "A now that you're sober," she directed her gaze toward Kiba, "I can go." She said, waving goodbye to Ino and exiting the house.

Kiba's gaze landed on Ino. "So," He smirked. "Did you try anything on me?" He raised an entertained eyebrow. "I mean, considering I was intoxicated, it must've been pretty tempting, I imagine. I wouldn't have remembered." He suggested. Ino rolled her eyes. "You're sober now. Kiba, get out of my house." She pointed to the door. "Shikamaru is supposed to be coming back today and I have to get ready." She said. That statement bothered Kiba. Though Ino didn't notice, because she was thinking of what she would wear to meet Shikamaru.

He laughed and got up. "All right, all right." He defended. Just before Ino closed the door behind him, he turned and winked. "Think of me." He smiled. Ino rolled her eyes again and closed the door. She couldn't help but to smile slightly as she stepped away from it.

* * *

**Very sorry it took me so long to continue the story. Forgive me!**

**Hope you liked it, though!**


	9. Who Knew

**Chapter 9: Who Knew Chapter 9: Who Knew**

* * *

Ino soon got ready to visit Shikamaru, who would be getting home in a little bit. But just as she opened the door to leave her house, she looked up and saw Inuzuka Kiba. Ino sighed. Seeing his face once a day was enough, so what did he want now?

"Tsunade-sama wants to see us."

Ino groaned. Was it really necessary? "Fine."

They walked in silence to the Hokage's office. When they arrived there, Tsunade folded her hands. "Enemy ninja have been spotted in the forest just outside the village. There are reports of strange activity." She stated.

"We have ninja all over the perimeter of Konoha, who are making camps are staking out, watching for any signs of strange or dangerous activity. I need you two to be one of these groups. And stake that area out until further notice. You are to leave as soon as possible."

Ino's frustration boiled inside of her. "You want _me_ to go with _him_?"

"Is there a problem?" Tsunade shot her gaze to Ino.

"No, it's just…Shikamaru just got back from his mission, and…-"

"Shikamaru will have to wait. There are more important things on hand." The fifth Hokage said sternly. Ino out of fear of Tsunade's wrath, fell silent.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." She nodded. As soon as they were dismissed, Ino groaned as Kiba and her left the office. "This is _your_ fault!" She turned and poked him hard in the chest.

"_My_ fault?" He looked slightly surprised, and offended. "How is this _my _fault?" His eyes narrowed as he spoke, "It's not like I _asked_ to go on this mission, let alone with _you._" He retorted and began to walk out of the building.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" She shot back, walking after him.

"Only that I wouldn't want to be stuck with _you_ for who knows how long." He replied.

"My apologies before hand, but I would sooner shoot myself than request that." He added with an obviously fake and sarcastic cheery tone in his voice. "Ah, but you, of course, would be more than happy to be with me for a couple of weeks, no?" He suggested, winking at her and giving her a toothy grin.

Ino glared hard at his back as he turned again and walked ahead of her.

"Trust me, that would be the _last_ thing I would want." She muttered under her breath.

The two of them parted ways to go and pack at their homes. And as Ino packed, she heard a knock at her door. When she opened it, Shikamaru was standing in her doorway. "Shika!" She jumped on him, hugging him tightly. He returned the hug and held her tightly. "I need to talk to you, Ino." He said as he released her.

"Well, I just found out I'm going on a mission." Ino scowled as she ran upstairs and grabbed her bags, bringing them downstairs. "We can talk plenty when I get back, okay?" She said, happy that she was able to see him before she departed. He nodded and sighed dramatically.

"Shika, I'm sorry, but thisis important." She replied. "Tsunade-sama will have my hide if Kiba complains about me being late." She complained and picked up her bags, walking up to him and giving him a small peck on the lips. "Walk me to the gate?" She requested, smiling. He sighed and nodded, offering to take her bags.

When the gate was in view, Ino noticed Kiba leaning against a wall nearby, with Akamaru by his side. The large dog barked and ran toward Ino. "Hey, Akamaru!" She smiled, kneeling down and ruffling the dog's fir. It'd felt like ages since she'd seen Kiba's canine companion.

She stood and turned to Shikamaru, who had put her bags on the ground next to her.

"Well, this is where I say goodbye." She gave him a small smile and shrugged. "I'm just sorry I can't spend more time with you after you've been gone for a week. And I'm told we won't know until further notice, just how long we'll be gone."

Shikamaru pulled her close and kissed her lightly, embracing her.

Kiba rolled his eyes at the scene, just before the couple pulled away.

"There'll be plenty of time when you get back." Shikamaru smiled, waving goodbye and walking away from them.

Kiba scowled and began walking out of the gate. "Come on." He growled. Ino raised an eyebrow at his sudden irritability, but shrugged it off.

They soon arrived at the spot they were to camp at. It took only a short time to get to, considering it was only a few miles outside of the village. Rummaging through her pack, she realized that in the rush of leaving her home, she'd left her other bag, which held her tent, _and_ the clothes that she would sleep in. She scolded herself and cursed aloud. Kiba, who already had his tent set up, glanced toward her with a raised eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

"Yes." She said and stood, staring at her bag. "I left my tent and pajamas at my house. This just isn't my day…"

Kiba laughed. "Nice job."

"Well, it was an accident!" She defended. "I was in such a hurry and Shikamaru arrived at my house, so it must have slipped my mind."

"If you want, you can share my tent." He suggested, smirking.

Ino turned quickly to him. "Hah, I'd rather sleep outside." She crossed her arms.

"By all means, go ahead." He said just as he finished setting up his tent. "If you change your mind, I'll be waiting." He winked at her and went inside.

Ino was absolutely appalled at his previous sentence and didn't know how to respond.

She soon decided to set out her sleeping bag. It had gotten dark by that time. And now all they had to do was sit, and wait for anything suspicious, or for someone to come and relieve them of their mission. _But what if it rains?_ She thought as they lay on her sleeping bag, looking to the sky. It looked as though it would be a pretty stormy night. Just after the thought crossed her mind, small trickles of water began to fall on her face. She groaned and sat up, as the rain began to fall harder. A flash of light told her that lightning had struck in the skies. The thunder of it caused her to jump up, grabbing her bag quickly making her way to Kiba's tent. It was quite ironic, really. She loved the rain, but still had not gotten over her explicit fear of thunder and lightning.

She, along with her bag, were soaking wet when she went inside. She looked over and saw Kiba's oversized dog, Akamaru lying beside Kiba, who sitting up in his sleeping bag. Evidently he was already trying to sleep. He wasn't wearing a shirt, causing her to get a bit flustered. "I, um…" She began, but paused when Kiba laughed at her. "I knew it."

"Well excuse me for not wanting to sleep out in the rain!" She defended. Just after she spoke, lightning struck again and she winced, covering her ears and sitting down quickly.

Kiba laughed again. "Still afraid of lightning, little Ino?" He teased, making her anger rise. "S-Shut up!" She yelled, hugging herself for warmth as she shivered.

He sighed. "I suppose I should give you something of mine to wear. It would make sense, considering I don't need my comrade getting hypothermia or catching a cold." He grabbed a pair of sweats and a T-shirt out of his bag. She quickly snatched them out of his hands and moved to the other side of the tent. "D-don't look!" She scolded, as he laughed and turned away. She changed quickly, not wanting him to peek. And as she moved to unbutton her shirt, her hand brushed against a locket. She clasped it in her hand for a moment.

Never had she figured why she still wore the thing that Kiba had given her so long ago. But she felt an attachment to it, and didn't want to let it go. Thus, wearing it every day, she treasured the small trinket.

She shrugged off her thoughts and finished changing, being sure to tuck the locket into her shirt, as she'd always done.

"Feel familiar?" He said, smirking as he turned back toward her once she was done changing.

It did. She remembered. Two years ago when she went to him after being soaked by the rain and frightened by the lightning. She wore his clothes then, as well. It was an overwhelming sense of deja vu. The clothes warmed her quickly and stopped her shivering but she was still cold. She no longer had a sleeping bag, since it was outside in the rain. So she lay down as far away from Kiba as possible on the empty floor of the tent, not answering his previous question.

Out of habit, she smelled his shirt. He smelled the same as when they were fifteen. She missed his smell. As soon as she realized what she was thinking, she stopped, inwardly scolding her self. She shivered slightly again. Kiba noticed this, and laughed lightly.

"Ino, if you want, you can have my sleeping bag." He offered.

She sat up and her gaze fell on him. She hadn't noticed before then, but he was much more attractive now than he was when they were still speaking to each other as friends. Of course, he'd grown into more of a man, instead of a boy. His torso was much more toned now.

"That's alright." She said sternly, her cheeks a light pink color. "I'm fine. I-I don't need to take it from you."

He was making it really hard for her to hate him as much as she wanted to. He was supposed to be a huge jerk, she thought. And he _was_. Yet, here he was again, for the second time, offering his clothes and bed to her.

"You're cold, Ino. We could share it if you'd like."

Ino looked disgusted at his offer. "I don't think so."

"Not like that!" He replied defensively. "I'm not _always_ perverted, you know!"

She laughed sarcastically at his words. "Right…" She rolled her eyes.

"Fine." Kiba grunted, lying down and closing his eyes. "I was only trying to help."

It was silent for a little while, when lightning struck again, causing Ino to jump and seem to scoot much closer to Kiba without being aware of it. Her fear seemed to take over her and get rid of any clear thoughts in her mind. She crawled into his sleeping bag and felt him tense for a moment, but he relaxed soon after. Her cheeks flushed red and she was thankful she was turned away, and he couldn't see her face. It was an uncomfortable position, for her. Her back was pressed against his bare chest, after all.

"Don't get any ideas, Dog Boy." She scoffed, and heard him chuckle.

A few moments later, she could hear an even breathing coming from Kiba, telling her that he was asleep. Of course, it would take her much longer to fall asleep, seeing that it was extremely awkward for her to be sleeping with him. She eventually forced herself to close her eyes and pretend he wasn't there, and allowed sleep to take over.

* * *

The next morning, when Ino woke up, just before dawn she felt something around her. It took a few moments for her to realize that Kiba had an arm over her torso, holding her close. Her cheeks turned a bright pink color, and she attempted to lift his arm off of her without waking him.

It was a failed attempt, of course.

She resisted the urge to groan out of slight aggravation and embarrassment when the unconscious Kiba only pulled her into a tighter embrace. She sighed, feeling completely helpless. She wanted so badly to slap him awake, but he would only realize what a position they were in, and it would be much more embarrassing for the both of them that way.

Akamaru then lifted his head, perking his ears to a noise that came from outside of the tent. The large dog's sudden loud bark caused Ino to jump and startled Kiba awake. They both quickly sat up. Kiba lifted himself to stand. Ino hadn't realized before that he was only wearing boxers. If ever there were a brighter shade of pink than she already had been earlier, she was wearing that shade on her cheeks now.

"What is it boy? You hear something?" Kiba questioned Akamaru and held a kunai firmly in his hand as he unzipped the tent and peeked outside. There, he saw about two raccoons snooping around the campsite. He sighed with relief.

"Just a couple of raccoons." He reassured both Ino, and Akamaru.

Kiba patted Akamaru on the head as he walked passed him and to his bag. He took out a pair of pants and put them on. Ino felt a bit awkward, watching him dress, so she exited the tent inconspicuously.

Ino sat on a tree stump outside. Things were not going well for her: she forgot her tent and nearly caught a cold lying out in the rain, and was forced to sleep in the same tent, _and_ sleeping bag with _Dog Boy_. Not to mention they were going to have to share the same tent every night until who knows how long. She sighed, wishing she could have Shikamaru there with her to encourage her.

She sighed. Akamaru seemed to be aware of her bad feeling, and rubbed his head against her arm as if to encourage her. She smiled slightly and rubbed the over-grown animal's head.

"Tent's all yours to change in." Kiba called, coming out of said tent.

As Ino changed in the tent, Kiba made a fire outside, along with breakfast. "Canned beans, Mm-mm. Can't get better than that, eh, Akamaru?" He said in a sarcastic tone to his canine friend.

Ino soon came out of the tent, with her usual purple outfit, glad to be in her, own dry clothes again. Though she did miss the smell of Kiba's clothes. As she sat back down on her stump, Kiba handed her a bowl of beans. She nodded her thanks and stirred her food with a spoon. She didn't have much of an appetite at the moment.

"Something wrong?" The brown-haired boy raised an eyebrow.

Ino awoke from her daze with a start. "What? No." She shook her head quickly. "I'm just a little tired."

"Well stay alert, Barbie. This isn't a camping trip." Kiba teased.

"If it was a camping trip, I would want the company to be a bit more pleasant…" Ino muttered as she held the bowl of hot beans, taking in its warmth.

Kiba growled slightly at her comment as he sat next to her on the large stump.

"Oh but Akamaru's company is quite enjoyable." She added, giggling, after the large dog barked and rubbed his head against her arm.

"You know," Kiba began slowly, staring at the fire, then moving his dark gaze to her as he smirked, "We're here all alone… And there's really nothing to do… I suggest we have a little fun." He nudged her with his elbow.

Her expression quickly transformed to one of utter disgust and she made a strange noise, "As if." She stuck her tongue out for emphasis on her disapproval. "I hope that's not how you lure all the other girls into sleeping with you." She pushed him rather aggressively off of the stump, and muttered, "Scumbag…" under her breath.

"Oi, oi!" Kiba lifted himself from the ground. "I didn't mean it that way at all, Ino!" He raised his hands in front of him. "Not everything I think of has to do with that. Jeez, you'd think _you _were the perverted one." He sat cautiously back onto the stump. "I **meant **that we should think of a game to play. Like, sing camping songs, or… a scavenger hunt, or…something." He said in a rather exaggerated tone and sighed.

"Unless… Since you were thinkin' it, you know-" His words were cut off when Ino's fist collided with the canine-like man's face.

He rubbed his cheek, wincing in pain, before suddenly bursting into speech once more, "And I'll have you know, that I do not _lure_ women into sleeping with me!" He pointed out, "I'm just so irresistibly adorable that they can't help but want to." He flexed playfully and gave her one of his trademark, toothy grins.

"Bleh, save me the details, Inuzuka." She said, turning her head away from him, apparently bored with the subject, her tired eyes staring into the trees as Kiba continued to talk in spite of her attitude toward him.

"'Tis a cryin' shame I gotta turn them all down, eh…?"

"Hmm?" Ino's head turned at that. "You mean… You're always bragging about all of the women you get, yet you've never slept with…any of them?" That was unexpected to her.

Kiba nodded his head. "It's hard being a womanizing virgin. Way too many women want me." He shook his head and whistled.

_Virgin!_

"Eh! What about all of those girls? Those late nights with all of them…the mornings of leaving them all alone before they wake… All the broken hearted girls in Konoha." Ino began to recite a list of both facts and rumors about Kiba.

"You listen to everything people tell you?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Face it, Kiba. You're the heartbreaker of Konoha. Of course I believe it." She replied dryly.

"Alright, alright. So I've been around a lot of women. I've just never found a special enough girl… Not since…" He paused, rubbing the back of his neck.

Ino felt a knot form in her stomach.

"Since _what_?" She found herself speaking without thinking.

"It's not important." He stood abruptly, "I'm gonna go for a walk. Akamaru, come!" He called his dog, which barked in reply and followed close behind Kiba. They both soon disappeared in the trees, leaving Ino in silence.

* * *

It was quiet, and the sun was just barely beginning to come up. Ino could hear the chirping of the birds, and the flowing water of the nearby river. The wind blew her hair all over, which annoyed her to no end as she attempted to fix it over, and over again, but to no avail. She sighed in frustration and gave up after a few minutes, but as the wind blew long blonde hair in front of her face, she noticed something in her shiny locks. "Beans!" There was sauce and beans stuck in her hair. "Ewww. How did I ever manage to get _beans _in my hair!" She wasn't a messy eater, after all.

She decided it would be best to wash her hair in the river. She headed to the river, and when she got there, her gaze scanned the area curiously. It was all too familiar. It was the same riverside that Kiba first told her that he liked her. She chuckled slightly and soon removed the thought from her mind. When she reached the flowing water, she had the urge to go for a swim. "A full bath might be nice. But it's freezing…" She mumbled as she felt the water with her hands. Maybe a rush of cold would wake her up a little.

She was right.

As soon as her clothes were off, until all she was wearing was her necklace, she jumped into the water. When she emerged to the surface she screeched at the low temperature.

It took her quite a while to get used to it, but she did momentarily. She began swimming around, relaxing in the water.

" Hey Ino! I-" She heard a call and she turned to see Kiba come out of the forest. His eyes widened and he stopped talking when he saw that she had nothing on.

"KIBA TURN AROUND!" She squealed and lowered herself further into the water and swam to the edge, so that both the water and the edge of dirt would cover her naked body.

Kiba quickly turned around. His cheeks reddened considerably, and he stood awkwardly as Ino lifted her self out of the water and began getting dressed.

"You're uh…wearing my locket." He said in a strange, yet soft, tone. He rubbed the back of his neck, still staring off into the trees.

Ino paused and looked down at the silver trinket. "I um… It's- it's not the same one." She lied. "I threw yours away a very, very long time ago." She spoke quickly, and nervously, her cheeks pink as she finished getting dressed. "Shikamaru gave this one to me." She said softly, obviously lying, as she lifted the locket and opened it, revealing the picture of Kiba and Ino.

"Oh…" He sounded disappointed, and felt a little hurt by that. But he understood. She was angry and hated him for so long, why wouldn't she have thrown it away? Although, it was an important thing when he had given it to her. Kiba turned and she fumbled with closing the locket.

"Eheh… What do you want, anyway?" Ino said with a hint of annoyance in her tone.

"I wanted to show you something. Hurry. The sun's almost up." He grabbed her by the arm and she squealed as he dragged her quickly through the trees, passed their campsite and into a small valley, where a grassy hill stood tall in the center. The wind blew twice as hard out there as it did in the trees, and Ino began to shiver, her wet hair hitting her face in the wind. She hugged herself for warmth.

"Come on." Kiba said, grabbing her by her wrist and dragging her along until they reached the hill and started walking up it. Ino yanked her wrist away.

"There b-better be a good reason for this, _mutt_." She mumbled, shaking. Her voice trembled and her teeth chattered as she glared at Kiba's back from her spot a few feet behind him.

"There is, trust me." He smiled, turning and taking off his jacket before throwing it at her. She caught it and raised her eyebrow prior to shrugging and putting the black coat on.

When she reached the top of the hill, where two trees sat, Ino gasped. "It's gorgeous." She whispered as she stared at the sunrise. As the wind blew, petals from various types of flowers that resided in the valley floated passed the two. "See? Told ya it was worth it." Kiba smirked and grunted in accomplishment as he crossed her arms and leaned on one of the trees to his right.

Ino's eyes danced in awe as she stood beside Kiba and stared at the horizon as hues of orange and yellow glided across the sky. Soon enough, she found herself still staring at the sky, letting her head tilt to the right and lean on Kiba's shoulder. He tensed and his gaze fell on her. The lighting made her look more beautiful than ever. But he knew, all too well, that she was loyal and belonged to someone else. He'd lost his chance long ago, and accepted that fact. But he'd wished that he could simply go back in time, and fix everything. But she seemed happy enough with Shikamaru, and whom would he be to try and ruin that?

"You're a little close to me, for a taken lady, aren't ya?" He smirked.

Ino's head jerked away when she realized the close proximity between the both of them. She glanced at him, and she found him staring at her. "Sorry." She mumbled.

Ino's faced turned light pink and she took off the jacket, snagging the locket on it in the process, and when she handed it to him, the trinket undid itself and fell from her lean neck without her noticing.

"I'm going back to camp." She said awkwardly, shoving the coat in front of him and averting her gaze. He reached out and grabbed it as he turned his gaze back to the horizon, remaining silent.

Ino sighed, walking away and back down the hill. She was soon gone and Kiba turned so that his back was leaning against the tree. He sat down and hit his head against the wood a few times, taking a bit of irritation out of his system, when he spotted a silver glint in the grass beside him. "Ino's locket…" He muttered.

Out of curiosity, he lifted the heart by its chain. It hung from his fingers as he examined it. It looked just like the one that he'd given her two years ago, same carvings and everything. If he didn't know any better, he'd say it _was_ the same one. He opened it up and furrowed his eyebrows at what he saw. "Ino…" He muttered under his breath as he touched the picture with his index finger. The picture of two soaked teenagers kissing after a rainstorm had just passed.

Why would she still be wearing it after all that time?

He closed it and clenched the locket in his fist, closing his eyes and sighing. Maybe if he'd at least tried, sometime in those two years, he could have won the back. But he was too busy being an idiot and looking to other women for comfort. Trying to fill some kind of hole that may have been there after he let Ino go. But it was far too late by now.

He was still in love with Ino. And he would admit that in a heartbeat, if it wouldn't ruin his chances of ever restoring a friendship with Ino. And he knew it would. He was afraid of what she'd say and didn't cope well with rejection. He wasn't rejected often, he mused as he stood and made his way back to camp.

* * *

Ino walked into the clearing where their camp resided and plopped herself down on the stump near the almost blown out fire, but the embers still burned with a bright orange color. She rubbed her neck as she sighed in slight frustration, only to not feel the chain that hung around her neck so often. She looked down and felt her neck to find that the locket was gone. She gasped and looked around the ground below her, thinking that it might have fallen at any time, a bit panicked as she kneeled, searching through the grass. She stopped abruptly and chuckled, realizing that she looked like a fool. She looked up at Akamaru, who stared at her with wide eyes, one ear perked higher than the other. She sighed and sat back on the stump. She didn't know why she treasured the trinket so much. But it didn't matter anymore. There wasn't much of a chance of her finding it now, unless she backtracked searching through the dirt all the way back to that hill. And she wasn't about to do that over something that shouldn't have meant as much to her as it did.

"Hey, Ino…" She heard Kiba say from behind her. She turned quickly, startled, but loosened up when she saw that it had only been him.

"You dropped this." He said, lifting the chain that rested on his fingers in sight.

"Oh, thank you, Kiba!" She said and stood, rushing over to him and taking the locket from where it hung. "I was freaking when I realized I'd lost it along with the picture of the two of u-" She paused. "Me and Shikamaru." She finished, turning around so that Kiba didn't see the nervous glint in her eyes.

"Save it, Ino." He spoke quietly, "I know what it is." He referred to the locket and what was inside. Ino felt her heart leap slightly, the beat of it pounding quickly, but softly. "What do you mea-" She began as though she had no clue what he was talking about, but his voice cut her off. "I looked inside." He said, rubbing the back of his neck with an awkward expression as she turned toward him.

Before she could say anything else he walked over to the fire, "I don't see why you kept that stupid thing," He mumbled, "When it meant nothing in the first place." He picked up a stick and moved the wood and embers around, trying to start the fire once more to warm the chilled air around the campsite.

The blonde kunoichi's heart dropped slightly. _Meant nothing…_ His words hit her pretty hard and they repeated in her mind. "O-Of course not..." She stammered in a quiet whisper, embarrassed. It was almost inaudible, but Kiba's keen ears caught it and he stole a glance toward her. He didn't want to make things confusing or hard for Ino. So he was just going to pretend he didn't mind, he'd decided.

Ino stared at Kiba, holding the locket close to her chest as he tended the fire. Of course it meant nothing. She'd always known that… Right? She'd been telling herself that for the last two years. But it was different coming from him. It hurt more to know that she was right about him not ever caring.

"Right." He said, nodding in response to her quiet reply.

"E-Exactly. It means nothing." She said, throwing the heart-shaped trinket and stared at it when it hit a rock in front of her, landing in the grass beside it. "It's just a worthless little necklace." She stated and Kiba raised his eyebrows. "I'll have you know, I spent a lot of money on that thing, miss." He pointed out, feeling slightly offended.

"Oh, like _your_ money and what you do with _your_ time matters even the slightest bit to me!" She spat out.

"I never said anything about my time, _Princess_. So maybe you were thinkin' about it. Care to spend a little more time on this?" He flexed and blew a kiss to his own bicep before winking playfully at her.

"Ugh, you are impossible, Kiba." She rolled her eyes at his obvious attempt to woo her.

"Impossible?" He raised a brow, "Or irresistible?" He suggested.

"Oh, please." Ino scoffed, "I resisted you two years ago, and surely I can do it now." She crossed her arms and Kiba fell silent. He felt as though she'd just thrown four shuriken right into his chest. But he wouldn't admit, or show that, of course. But still, he couldn't think of a threatening or witty comeback for that.

Ino realized that maybe it was a bit harsh, and she, too, fell silent. She sighed, then quietly made her way into the tent. "Where's Shikamaru for clarification when you need him…" She mumbled as she sat down inside and curled her knees to her chest, resting her chin on them.

Kiba's gaze fell on the rock that the locket hit as he stood by the fire. He made his way to it, and gently picked up the silver heart. He clasped it in his hand and sighed as he stuck it in his pocket and looked over to the tent.

Suddenly heard movement nearby and instantly, Akamaru stood next to him, alert and cautious. He saw a head emerge from the bushes and a kunai knife flew passed Kiba's head and into a tree behind him. _Such bad aim. _ He mused and Akamaru barked, soon vanishing into the bushes to chase after the culprit. Kiba growled and was on the enemy's tail as well.

He stopped running when he was in a clearing and he heard whispers from all around him. He clutched his fist around the hilt of a kunai when a man dressed in all black with a black mask walked out of the trees. He wasn't wearing the symbol of any village on his attire, nor did he have a headband. He pulled a long sword from a sheath and got into a battle stance, evidently wanting to do one-on-one combat with Kiba as his colleagues watched.

* * *

**Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. Hope you enjoy it.**


	10. Think Of You Later

* * *

**Chapter 10: Think Of You Later**

* * *

**A/N: I am soooo sorry I took so long to come out with this chapter. But do not fret! I have a couple of ideas for some new chapters, so writers block is no longer the case, so therefore I will have no excuse to stop writing. Please, don't give up on me just yet!**

* * *

Nightfall came fast and Ino awoke in a corner of the tent. She groaned as she lifted her body from a rock that the tent was on.

_I must've fallen asleep…_She thought as she heard the sound of crickets filling the area. She rubbed her eyes and stood, exiting the tent. She looked around to see Kiba nowhere in sight.

_I wonder where he might have gone…_ She thought as she sat on the stump near the fire and slumped over, resting her elbow on her knee, and her chin in her hand lazily.

Suddenly, Kiba burst through the trees, holding his side and wincing in pain. He stumbled toward Ino, who stood quickly, gasping and covering her mouth with her hand as he coughed. He groaned and fell to his knees, nearly toppling over to his side.

"Kiba!" She cried and was instantly at his side, kneeling and holding him up. "What happened?" She asked, worry evident in her eyes.

"Ino… Go to Konoha." He said and grunted in pain as he stood with a little help from Ino, "Tell Hokage-sama that the reports were right, and there is a threat wandering these woods. They wo-…" He stopped to take a deep breath, panting heavily as he gripped his side. "They wore all black, and didn't have a village symbol on any part of them. From what I saw could tell, they were independent rogue ninja who depended on combat alone. No techniques that required any chakra, just simple combat."

"Then how the hell did you end up like this?" Ino tilted her head questioningly.

"There were like fifteen of them." He growled, "All incredibly trained in that one asect. I was so busy trying to fight them all off that I didn't have time to do any hand signs. They just came one after the other and then they were just…gone." He huffed, coughing as blood spat out from his mouth and to the floor. "You have to report to Tsunade-sama." He pulled himself away from Ino, trying to stand on his own, but felt a dizzy sensation in his head, nearly fainting and falling over when Ino caught him again.

"I'll get to that as soon as we deal with your injuries." Ino tilted her head and grabbed one of his arms, putting it around her shoulders to help keep him up as he helped him to the tent. She glanced over to him. He had scratches all over his face, and drops of blood trickled down his forehead. She kneeled down inside the tent as he let go and lay on the sleeping bag. "Now just…sit still." She said as she put her hands over his side. Chakra formed around her hands as she began to heal the wound. She closed her eyes, concentrating on that spot, "Your ribs are definitely broken…" When she was finished, he felt the pain begin to falter. "Sorry. I'm not the best medic ninja yet… Your ribs are still fractured, but not shattered." She stood, dusting herself off as Kiba nodded. "Look at all those bruises. We have to get you back to Konoha, and to the hospital." She commanded, but Kiba shook his head, "No. I want to stay here. I'll be fine. I can move around like this. I'll just wrap my side up, and it'll be like it's not even there. Besides, it's not even that bad." He shrugged.

Ino sighed. She knew that she wasn't going to be able to convince him to go anywhere, and she sure as hell wasn't going to carry him all the way to the hidden leaf village.

" Fine. Now, while I'm gone, I want you to stay in here and don't do anything stupid." She said and put one foot out of the tent before Kiba laughed, coughing in between chuckles. "Me?" He spoke weakly but still smirked arrogantly, "Stupid? Hah." He joked.

Ino rolled her eyes, "I mean it, dog boy, no dumb stunts. I'll be back as soon as possible." With that, exited the tent. Akamaru sat next to the entrance and whined with worry. "Aw, it's alright, Akamaru. Kiba's gonna be just fine…" She whispered to the dog as she ruffled his fur. She noticed his white fur was stained with blood on his leg. "Let's get that healed, shall we?" She mused aloud and chakra formed around her hand once again as she closed the dog's cut. "There we go. Good as new." She smiled and scratched Akamaru behind the ear before she was on her way.

* * *

Tsunade was in her office, whining to Shizune about all the paperwork that she was giving her when the door burst open. "Hokage-sama." Ino said, "Kiba was attacked in the forest."

Tsunade's face held a more serious expression then just moments ago, "When?"

"Just today. He said that there were about fifteen rogue ninja, who didn't use chakra related techniques. They relied on simple combat only. It was near our site."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. She didn't know of any rogue ninja of that type. "Thank you, Ino. We'll be right on it. We'll have ANBU out there as soon as possible to rid us of this threat. You're dismissed." She nodded.

"If you don't mind, Hokage-sama. I'd like to return to the site as soon as possible."

"Very well. Leave as soon as you'd like."

"Hai, arigatou." Ino bowed slightly and exited the Hokage's office.

As she was leaving the building, she spotted Shikamaru, who was walking in, "Oi, Ino. Hey. You back?" He said, "Hey, Shika-kun!" She said, giving him a tight hug, "Not just yet. Just reporting to Tsunade-sama. Kiba was attacked…" Her face fell slightly, "But he's alright." She nodded when she saw a bit of worry cross Shikamaru's expression.

"Ino… Can we talk?"

"All right…since we didn't have a chance before. I'm sorry I had to leave in such a hurry, Shika-kun." Ino said, grabbing Shikamaru's hand gently.

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "You're making this hard, Ino…" He mumbled and Ino raised her eyebrow.

"Making what hard, Shika?"

"Ino…When I was on my mission, in Suna… I… I developed feelings… for someone else." He averted his gaze, and Ino's heart dropped. She let go of his hand and felt that she couldn't breath. "It's…" She began, tears stinging her eyes and threatening to fall as she choked the words out, "It's Temari… isn't it?" She sniffed, trying to hold the tears back.

Shikamaru shook his head, sighed and looked into her eyes. "Her name is Takeshi Risa." Ino's heart dropped as he said the name. _Risa…_Was it not the second time she'd lost a love to that very woman? She wanted to hate Shikamaru so much in that moment. She wanted to hate Risa for stealing away the only two men she'd ever romantically had in her life. But she just couldn't… "Ino, I never meant for it to happen. It just…happened. She makes me feel better than anyone else ever has." He grabbed her hand again comfortingly, and lifted it to his chest. "We were only ever best friends, Ino. You know that…" He shook his head as a tear fell down her cheek, "Oi, Ino… Don't cry."

Ino yanked her hand away, "I-I'm fine. No, it-it's fine." She shook her head, willing herself not to let the tears fall anymore. "It's good, because, you know. I feel the same way." She backed away from him through the doorway. "I knew we were never meant to be, Shika…" She whispered, managing a smile for him. "Friends?" She sniffed. "Best friends." Shikamaru nodded and smiled softly.

Ino stared at her feet, "I'd better go, then…" She said quietly. Shikamaru took a step toward her and grabbed her hand, pulling her into him and embracing her tightly. "Ino, I know that one day, you'll find someone who will treat you like a princess, and will make you feel better than anyone. And not just in a friendly way. You deserve only the best."

"Thank you, Shikamaru…" She choked, returning his hug, and soon pulling away. "Goodbye." She waved, and was on her way. She felt the tears sting her eyes, and now that no one was looking, let the salty liquid fall down her face as she made her way back to Konoha's main gate.

* * *

Kiba awoke from a sleep when he heard Akamaru barking outside of the tent. He groaned and peaked out of the tent, seeing about four rogue ninja rummaging through the site. He gripped a kunai from his side and sent it flying toward one of them, where it went straight into his back, killing him instantly. The other three became alert and one of them jumped away, disappearing into the trees. The other two ran toward Kiba, who was now out of the tent. As they ran to him, Kiba did a couple of hand signs, "Shikyaku no Jutsu" He called and his fangs and claws grew.

He growled, a feral combination of characteristics growing inside of him. He quickly jumped behind one of the men and slashed at his back with his claws, causing the man to cry out in pain, but he turned and crouched, spinning and kicking Kiba in the ankles, knocking him over. Akamaru was attacking the other man when Kiba called from the floor, "Akamaru, Jūjin Bunshin!" He did a few hand signs as Akamaru jumped onto his back and transformed into a perfect clone of Kiba. As Akamaru jumped from him and fought the other ninja, slashing at him ferociously, Kiba jumped up from the ground, kicking the other in the face. Suddenly, kunai from three different directions came flying toward both Kiba and Akamaru. It missed the cloned dog, but stabbed Kiba right in his side, where his broken ribs were. He cried out and fell to his knees momentarily.

The ninja clad in black took the opportunity to take his long sword and stab Kiba in the shoulder. He groaned loudly and growled, taking a shuriken and throwing it straight into the ninja's chest. Throwing it at such a close proximity, the shuriken went deep into the man's flesh and he fell over, coughing up blood before he fell silent and still.

**((A/N: Sorry. I've never been very good at writing anything combat-related. Thus, I skipped writing his last fight…))**

"Akamaru!" He called, and the clone looked over, nodding as he ran to Kiba and jumped onto his back. The two of them jumped into the air, "Gatsuuga!" They both yelled as they flew like a drill, and tore into the trees, right where the other ninja was hiding. It knocked him out of sight. Kiba's chakra was running low and he panted. Akamaru turned back into his normal appearance and he, too, was tired. Kiba stood and looked over at his companion, who barked as a warning just before Kiba felt someone grab his arm, twisting it painfully as he heard a bone snap followed by a cold metal piercing into his back. He fell forward, right on his face as he felt a dizziness take over, the world turning dark, until all he could see was black. The last thing he saw was the large Akamaru jumping on the man, growling and attacking him aggressively.

* * *

Ino sat at a hospital bedside, staring at Inuzuka Kiba as he lay unconscious, severely wounded and bandaged in dozens of places.

She thought of how she'd found him, nearly dead, lying near the campsite…

**_Flashback_**

As Ino had been running through the forest outside of Konoha, and back to camp, she finished with her tears, and grew bitter toward herself in only moments.

"_What is so wrong with me that I can't keep a guy from falling for another girl? And the same girl, for that matter!"_ She thought, narrowing her eyes as she neared the sight. She felt hollow and worthless. It was the second time it had happened to her in her teenaged years, and she hoped it would be the last in her life. Was she so hopeless that no guy could be satisfied with her?

As she mused and rummaged through her thoughts, she arrived at the camp and her pitiful thinking stopped abruptly as she took in the sight of two dead bodies lying in the middle of the clearing, where blood was splattered all over. _"What happened here?"_ She thought, with wide eyes and slowly walked through and passed the bodies to an area with many torn apart and destroyed trees. In the destructed area, she saw another dead man who looked like a rogue ninja, along with the others. His neck was bitten and bloody.

She felt her heart nearly stop when she saw Kiba, lying in a pool of blood. Akamaru whined as he lay by his friend, as though he hadn't left his side for hours. A gasp escaped from her lips as she ran to him, kneeled beside him and rolled him over so that he lay on his back, "Kiba!" She cried, hopelessly lifting him up so that his head rested on her knees. She grabbed his face and slapped it lightly. "Wake up." She choked, feeling tears sting her eyes. She felt his wrist for a pulse.

_Thump. Thump._

He was alive!

"Oh, thank God, he has a heartbeat!" She whispered with great relief and lifted him up. "Akamaru! Take Kiba to the Konoha Hospital as quick as you can, boy." She propped the unconscious male onto the bear-sized dog. Akamaru barked in acknowledgement and took off.

**_End Flashback_**

All Ino could think of was how harsh she'd been to him that day. Now being three days since the attack, it was the first time she visited the comatose Inuzuka since they got his vitals stabilized.

Tsunade said that he just barely survived. He'd been bleeding for a few hours before she found him, and shouldn't have been alive, according to the Fifth.

She was afraid: Afraid of losing the only person in the world who ever made her feel like she was worth something. And she was afraid of losing the one person who was ever able to take it away.

She hated him so much for it.

And yet, she found herself sitting at his side, not knowing what she would have done if she had lost him for good.

Worry crossed her expression as she rid herself of all thought and stared at Kiba. Oh, how she'd hoped with all of her heart that he would be OK.

She jerked her head toward the doorway when she heard footsteps enter the room.

"Konnichi wa, Sakura, Hinata." She nodded to the two and smiled. Two others entered the room and she could have sworn her heart skipped a beat. It was Shikamaru. And she would recognize the face of the woman who'd taken both Kiba and Shikamaru from her any day. She caught herself staring at the couple as they walked in, hand in hand. What nerve! And right after they broke up, too! Ino admitted to her self though; Risa was a beautiful woman. She understood exactly why she was able to capture the hearts of men. It was in that moment that Ino felt worthless and undeserving of any man compared to the woman standing before her.

Why go for a simpleton like Ino when you can have women like Takeshi Risa?

"Konnichi wa, Ino." Sakura spoke, bowing politely before focusing her gaze to Kiba. Her expression turned to that of a sad one and she took a step closer to the bed. "Did Hokage-sama say anything about his condition?" She asked and Ino nodded, "Hai, she did. She said he was going to be just fine. But there's no telling when he'll wake from his coma." Her voice cracked as she replied. "You should've seen him, Sakura." A single tear fell down her ivory colored cheek and she sniffed, "It was awful. When I found him, I thought he was dead. And if I had been there sooner, maybe he wouldn't be like this."

Every eye in the room was focused on Ino as she spoke. She felt like a fool. But her emotions were like a roller coaster. Her boyfriend just broke up with her, had the nerve to bring his new love interest along and rub it in her face, Kiba was comatose and in critical condition, and Ino was feeling more and more each day as though she couldn't trust any man!

More tears rolled down her cheeks and Hinata rushed over to her and wrapped her arms around the blonde. "He's going to be OK, Ino." She whispered to her in a comforting tone, "He's going to be OK…" she repeated, and felt as though she was going to cry as well.

Shikamaru and Risa stood there in silence. They wanted to see how Kiba was doing, seeing how he and Risa had been good friends growing up. Shikamaru was incredibly uncomfortable to discover that Ino was there as well. If he had known she was at the hospital, then he wouldn't have brought Risa there. "Let's go…" He whispered to the dark haired girl and she nodded, taking his hand as they both exited the room.

After Ino had cried all of the tears from her eyes, - which, was about an hour later of her venting and sobbing to them – Hinata and Sakura soon said their goodbyes and left.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Ino stood by the window of Kiba's hospital room and stared up at the night sky.

_It's so pretty tonight..._ Ino thought as she gazed at the white, glowing rays that emitted from the moon.

Every time she was on a mission with Kiba, he got hurt, or was at some type of disadvantage once they completed one. But either way, she always seemed to be the one at fault. If she hadn't stopped to talk to Shikamaru for so long, and been distracted from getting back as quickly as possible, then Kiba might be awake right now.

She groaned and sat on a chair near the window. When had life gotten so miserable? It was hard to feel anything, these days. Hell, it was even hard to _not_ feel anything.

But the realization struck her: She was not allowing herself to be happy. She stayed with Shikamaru, knowing that they never really had true feelings for each other, knowing that she only stuck with the relationship for a sense of security. She let everything that came out of Kiba's mouth bother her. And here she was, moping around this room with no purpose because _Shikamaru_ never loved her, and left her for a more deserving woman.

Well that would not be the case any longer.

Yamanaka Ino was going to create her own happiness, and her own accomplishments. She would no longer let her world revolve around a man. Besides, being single for a little while would definitely do her some good. Perhaps she would go on the occasional date, but nothing as serious as she'd let herself get with her two other previous romantic interests.

She turned to look at Kiba one last time as she stood from her chair. He looked so peaceful as he slept. The moonlight enhanced his charming features.

"Goodbye, Kiba." She whispered and walked quietly out of the door.

* * *

"Ino! Ino!" She heard a loud knock on her bedroom door and she groaned when someone walked in.

"Ino, wake up!" The person shouted purposefully, right into her ear. Blinded by her subconscious rage, Ino growled and grabbed her pillow, slamming it right over the perpetrator's head.

"Ow! Dammit, Ino!"

Ino opened her eyes to see Sakura sitting on the floor. She had apparently fallen from the blow. She sat up in her bed and stared at her with tired eyes. "Gomen, Sakura." the blonde muttered, "But what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to tell you that Kiba woke up! Just a few hours ago." She grunted as she pushed herself up and stood, straightening her clothes and smiling.

Ino smiled widely, immediately getting out of bed and heading straight to her dresser to get dressed. It had been a month since the night she visited Kiba.

In a coma for a whole month... How awful.

She stopped grabbing her clothes from the drawers, turning to Sakura.

"You know what...? It's probably not a good idea for me to be there right now, actually." Her expression was one of slight regret.

"Why?" The pink-haired woman questioned with a raised eyebrow, clearly confused at Ino's statement.

"I just don't want to get attached again, Sakura. I made that mistake twice already, and twice is too many times to be hurt and keep rushing blindly into things." She referred to her relationships with Kiba and Shikamaru.

"But Kiba is your friend." Sakura said softly.

"I know. So will you say hello to him for me?" Ino's eyes pleaded with Sakura. She had to guard herself from getting hurt, which meant that she needed to stop spending so much time with Inuzuka Kiba.

Sakura only smiled softly in understanding and nodded, as if she knew what her friend was thinking, before she silently left the room.

Ino slumped and allowed herself to fall backward onto her bed. She was doing the right thing. Right?

* * *

A week and a half after Kiba woke from his coma, he was released from the hospital. Everyone came to visit him when he woke up. Including, to his surprise, the fairly new couple that contained Takeshi Risa and Nara Shikamaru. When did that happen? Ino never mentioned a break up, so it was probably while he was in his coma state, he mused.

Kiba wasn't going to lie to himself, he was rather disappointed when Ino never came to visit him while he was conscious. But he figured she had better things to do. After all, they weren't as close as they used to be.

And now he walked through Konoha (on crutches, of course. He acquired a shattered rib, broken leg and fractured arm, along with other things from the fight) on his way to the Ichiraku Ramen shop to meet up with Naruto.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw blonde hair in the corner of his eye. It was Ino. She was talking with Shikamaru and Risa with a huge grin on her face. Was she laughing? Shouldn't she be furious with Shikamaru? After all, he had left her for the very woman that kissed him when they were just fifteen. Risa was the reason both of Ino's relationships ended. So why did she look so happy?

* * *

**Hope you liked this chapter! Once again, I sincerely apologize for the awfully long delay!** **I guaruntee you that I will be posting a new chapter up very soon!**


	11. Picking up the Pieces

**Chapter 11: Picking Up The Pieces**

* * *

**A reader suggested once that since most of my story is from Ino's POV, I should create a chapter solely on Kiba's POV. So here's a chapter full of just that! I'll be continuing from where I left off from the time in the last chapter when Kiba sees Ino talking to Shika.  
**

* * *

He was befuddled. How is it that Ino got so mad at him, but she's still all buddy-buddy with Nara? He felt a slight tinge of irritation rush through him, but relaxed soon enough, knowing that it was nearly two years ago, and Ino had grown in maturity since then, as Kiba should have. But he felt almost the same for the blond kunoichi as he had back then, and his jealousy hadn't let up very much.

Of course, Kiba knew he had no legitimate reason to be jealous of Nara. After all, Ino did not currently belong to either of them. But what he was truly jealous of, was that Shikamaru hurt her, and she forgave him in a heartbeat. But when Kiba did nearly the same thing, it took her two years. And she still hadn't forgiven him!

Kiba looked away when Ino glanced at him and caught him staring. A small growl emitted from his mouth as he continued to trudge on, hopping along with his crutches toward the Ramen shop, ignoring Ino's gaze, which, unknown to him, remained on him for a few moments.

"Hey, Naruto." Kiba said in a bored tone as he sat next to the blond shinobi who had already eaten his first bowl of ramen, ready to chow down on the next.

"What's up? You don't seem to excited to be alive." Naruto observed. "Hungry?" He offered,

"Nah." Was Kiba's reply. "Just kind of sick of being so slow all of the time in these damn crutches." He laughed. It was a lie, of course. There was far more bothering him than his silly wooden sticks.

"Well that's nothing that a bowl of misu ramen with pork can't fix!" Naruto exclaimed and ordered his friend a bowl, regardless of the fact that Kiba had turned down his offer.

Kiba ended up eating it, anyways.

* * *

He sighed and fell onto the couch as soon as he got home, relieved to be resting his pain-endured body.

One thing that had slipped his mind was that the next day was Christmas Eve. And when his mother asked him what he would be wearing to the party, he hadn't a clue what she was talking about until she sternly reminded him that the whole family was going. He reluctantly agreed, although he wasn't sure if he could look good in anything right now, what with the crutches, casts and bandages covering his person. She also explained to him that there was a white elephant exchange. And that he needed to go out and find a gift. When he complained that he was broken, she wouldn't have any of it, and shoved him out the front door with his crutches.

(A/N: For those of you who don't know what a "White Elephant Exchange" is: It's when a group of people in a party all bring presents and bring the gifts together, and each person picks a number from a hat. It goes in numerical order to decide who gets to pick a gift at random first. Blahblahblah you get it.)

And so, on the night before Christmas Eve, Kiba wandered the shops of Konoha to find a suitable gift. One that his mother would approve of. Knowing her, if it wasn't good enough, she'd send him out to get one again. It occurred to him that while he was out, he should buy his mom and sister their Christmas presents. They wouldn't very well enjoy getting pieces of paper that contained the letters "IOU" on them on Christmas morning.

While searching the market, Kiba passed the Yamanaka Flower Shop. He glanced inside the window, and, wouldn't you know it, there stood Ino, behind the counter, talking to none other than Takeshi Risa! They seemed so friendly with each other. It angered Kiba, and he wasn't entirely sure why. Maybe because Ino accepted what Shikamaru did over what he, himself did.

He wouldn't do anything about it, though. He's long since given up on pursuing Yamanaka Ino. He wasn't good enough for her, and he still remains as much.

The last thing he would want to do was hurt her again, but that's all he ever does to women. So why bother?

He sighed and continued on his way toward the jewelry shops for something for his mom.

* * *

The next day, and just an hour before Konoha's Christmas Eve party (hosted by Haruno Sakura this year) Kiba looked in the mirror at his attempt to look nice. He smirked in the accomplishment that he may just have done so. His long sleeved, dark purple button up dress shirt with brown pin stripes covered the bandages on his left arm, which held cuts and bruises. Two things he couldn't hide, though, were the sling that his right arm rested in and the cast on his left foot.

"Kiba! We're leaving!" He heard his sister call.

So early? "I'll meet you there!" He called back down the stairs. He didn't see the point of getting to the party an entire sixty minutes early. Well, then he'd just have to help out with the preparations. And he wasn't willing to do so with such broken bones. He walked out of the bathroom and into his room. He glanced at the dusty, unused book shelf, (Who needed reading, anyways?) that held a small trinket. He lifted it, and opened the locket, his eyes locked onto the girl who had stolen his heart so long ago.

"No, Kiba, NOW." His mom shouted.

"Alright, alright! Fine!" He subconsciously stuck the locket into his pocket and leaned on his crutches, hobbling out the door as quickly as he could in his condition.

* * *

When he arrived at the Haruno's Christmas party, he did what he knew he would be forced to do; help. And he didn't want to be an ass and refuse, so he helped out with the sound system. He didn't carry anything, of course. He only made sure that everything was arranged in the right way, and that the speakers didn't produce a lot of feedback; that kind of stuff.

Soon enough, people began to arrive. Along with one certain girl. He stood there and stared at her as she talked to Chouji, laughing at a joke that the Akimichi had apparently made.

She was beautiful. Her hair pinned up in a half-pony tail, the remaining tresses of long hair cascading along her ivory shoulders. She wore a knee-length, dark purple dress with spaghetti straps.

"She's gorgeous tonight, is she not?" Sakura's voice made Kiba jump. She stood next to him, drink in hand and smiled at him.

"Y-yeah..." He muttered, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. He felt somewhat like a gross stalker, staring at her for all that time.

"I know it's tough, Kiba." The pink-haired girl set a gentle hand on his shoulder, "I know you think she's abandoned your friendship completely. But she doesn't want to get hurt again. She's changing, Kiba. And for the better. She's genuinely becoming happy again." Sakura's hand fell to her side as she gestured to Ino, "I would hate for anything to interfere with that." She sent him a warning glance. Not in a rude way, but a in a soft manner, her expression telling him that it may have been time to finally let her go, as he should have long before. Kiba knew that Sakura would do anything to ensure her best friend's happiness.

He sighed, turning away from Sakura and exiting the house, making his way to the Haruno's front doorstep, and sitting on a nearby bench. He stared up at the night sky. The stars and moon shone brightly in the black abyss.

"It's pretty, isn't it?" A familiar voice spoke. He turned to his left, only to see Ino's bright blue eyes staring right back at him. "I just came out here to admire it myself." She spoke again as she sat beside him on the bench.

He smirked slightly, "Almost as pretty as that little figure of yours?" He winked playfully, managing to keep a smile going.

Her eyes narrowed in frustration, but she couldn't hide the blush that so reddened her pale cheeks. "Inuzuka Kiba, you are a pig!" She punched him in the arm.

"Ow! Dammit, Ino!" He held his fractured arm.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Kiba, I hadn't realized that it was your bad arm!"

"Didn't notice the whole arm-in-the-sling thing going on around this side of my torso?" He pointed to his arm with his other, bandaged arm.

"Not one bit, actually. I've hardly seen or talked to you since your coma..." She stared down at her hands that rested on her lap.

Quiet.

"So you broke up with Nara, ey? That means you're a free woman, you know." He broke the silence, smirking.

"No. He broke up with me. It seems your _Risa_ had won again." She chuckled, now comfortable with he fact, for some reason. She completely ignored his other statement.

Kiba grew more serious, "Ino... I wish I could say I'm sorry and take it all back but-"

"Kiba it's fine. I'm fine. I don't mind it anymore. Risa and I are actually kind of like friends now. As for me and Shikamaru: My feelings for him haven't changed, because they were never intimate in the first place." She smiled reassuringly.

She really had changed, Kiba mused. Ino seemed far more independent and confident now than she had been over a month ago.

"And besides, if Shikamaru wasn't the one for me, why should I fight it?"

"Well, yeah. But I was talking about us..." He said rather sheepishly, staring at his feet.

Ino was silent for a moment, and he soon regretted his words completely.

He stuck his hands in his pockets, and to his surprise, he felt something metal inside. He pulled out the heart-shaped locket, realizing he must have stuck it in there by accident.

"I suppose I've become at peace with that, too." She finally spoke, sounding a bit unsure of herself as she stared up at the stars. "It...helps not to think about it, though." She managed to say, clearly having some trouble with the thought. "I suppose we could have had another chance, had you come after me. But you didn't. So that's that." Her voice actually cracked slightly.

He did regret not fighting for her. And he should have, he knew. But even he was afraid that he would hurt her again, because, being honest with himself,

_She's out of my league._

"And now... Well I wouldn't want to lose you to another girl again, so having you as a friend may end up being good enough." She whispered, and her eyes then widened, as though she hadn't meant to say that last part aloud.

Kiba didn't respond, and she began to talk but paused when instead of speaking he took Ino's hand and placed something in her palm, tenderly closing her fist. He struggled to stand with his crutches while she opened her hand and gasped to see what it was that she was holding.

"Merry Christmas, Barbie." He mumbled.

"This is..." She trailed off, and he had already been nearly half way back to the house a few feet away.

"Kiba, wait." She said, standing from the bench as he turned around.

She walked up to him and smiled, "Since you can't put it around my neck this time, would you hold my hair out of the way with your better arm?" She requested, turning around, to his complete surprise. He gently moved her hair out of the way while she put the locket around her own neck.

When she turned back around to face him, she leaned in and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. "Thank you, Kiba." She whispered and passed him to make her way back inside.

_Just do it..._ _What have you got to lose? You've already lost her._

"I never meant to hurt you, Ino. I hope you know that..." He faced her and she stopped, turning around to look at him. "And I do still love you." He continued more quietly, a pained expression across his features.

That was all she needed: To know that he always cared.

He couldn't read her expression, and that worried him slightly. But he thought he could take whatever she said. He'd dealt with rejection by a small hand full of women before -- not a lot, of course. -- Although, none that he was ever in love with. So it may just pose far more difficult to sink in this time. He only sought after so many women in the past because he couldn't find anyone to fill the hole as well as she did. And eventually, it simply became a numb routine.

The moonlight enhanced her_ beautiful_ features and his gaze averted to the ground to the left of him. He heard her high heels click quickly, one after the other toward him and soon enough, he felt two small arms wrap around his torso, underneath his own arms.

"I know." Ino whispered, her cheek pressed against his shoulder as she held him close and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

Her sudden action surprised Kiba considerably. He stiffened, unsure of what to do. Soon enough, he found himself wrapping his one good arm around Ino.

It had been so long since he'd held her, and he would be lying if he said he didn't miss it.

"I've been waiting so long to be able to tell you how glad I am that you're OK." She muttered into his shoulder, sniffing. "And now that I have the chance, I want to tell you that I wanted to see you when you woke up... I really did. I didn't forget about you, Kiba," She shook her head, "I didn't."

He wasn't sure what to say. All of that time, he was so sure that she hated him.

"I was afraid. I was afraid of getting hurt again - of losing _you_, again."

He gently kissed the side of her forehead, "You won't. I'll always be here as your arrogant, flirty bastard of a friend, Blondie." He laughed quietly, knowing that he was still afraid to hurt her, regardless.

"That's what I was hoping you'd say." Ino chuckled softly, pulling away from Kiba and staring into his eyes. She closed her eyes and her tears splashed from them as she shook her head, "Because I can't do the whole relationship thing again." She smiled weakly, opening her eyes, "At least not for now. I need to figure myself out, first." Her blue eyes locked gazes with his dark brown ones, "I had the whole month that you were in the hospital to think my feelings over. I miss you being my best friend, Dog Boy. And I didn't realize that until you were almost permanently taken from me."

He leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, "I get it," he managed to whisper.

"But know this;" Another tear fell down Ino's cheek and dropped to the ground as she reached up to grip the back of Kiba's hair in her hand, pulling his face toward hers and pressing her lips against his. Only a short moment later, she pulled away, their foreheads still leaning against one another. "Never did I stop loving you, Inuzuka Kiba."

She took a sharp breath, and with that along with the sound of a few clicks from her heels, she was gone and back inside of the house.

She sure was making it hard to let go.

He sighed and adjusted his crutches. He'd spent enough time at that party. Holidays weren't his thing, anyways.

* * *

_Knock Knock_

Kiba woke up on the couch in his living room. He didn't remember falling asleep there, as opposed to his actual bed.

_Oh, yeah. I was too lazy to try and get up the stairs..._ The memory came back to him.

He didn't want to bother attempting to hobble his way up the long steps.

_Knock knock_

He sat up, rubbed his eyes and groggily stumbled with his crutches to the front door before turning the nob and opening it.

"Merry Christmas, Kiba!" Stood Sakura, smiling broadly and holding a medium sized box, wrapped in shiny paper with a bow on the top. Beside her stood Naruto, who held two smaller gifts in his own hands.

"Ne, this is your white elephant exchange gift. You left, so you got the last one." The blond man handed him a small brown box. "And I got you this." He shoved the next, a small bag, into Kiba's hands.

"I got you something, as well." Sakura said merrily as she handed him the gift that she held.

Kiba grinned crookedly, "You really didn't have to get me anything, guys."

"But we wanted to!" Naruto exclaimed, "We bought gifts for everyone!"

"Hai, we're going around town giving them to our friends." Sakura nodded in agreement, holding up a fairly large bag filled with carefully wrapped presents.

"Well, thanks." Kiba muttered before yawning.

"And what are you still doing sleeping? Shouldn't you and your family be opening presents by now?"

"Nah, don't wake up at five in the morning to get stuff. We wait until we're all awake, and then we go about whatever." He didn't really want to try and word his sentence properly, on account of being tired.

"Damn, the sun's hardly up... Why?" He raised an eyebrow at them, referring to the question of why they would wake before sunrise to trudge around town in the freezing cold and give people things.

"It's Christmas!" Was all Sakura said as she continued to smile brightly. Did nothing ever dampen this girl's spirits?

"See ya, Kiba." Naruto waved and Sakura followed after he walked away.

Kiba sighed, staring at the gifts in his hands before closing the front door and sitting right back onto the couch.

First; he opened Naruto's, and it was a gift card to Ichiraku Ramen. Kiba chuckled lightly. He hadn't even known that they offered cards.

Next was Sakura's. It was a brown scarf and beanie, along with a note. It read: _Don't pack light clothing. I've got a surprise for everyone on New Years! _He raised an eyebrow, wondering just what it was. Would they all be going somewhere? He didn't exactly feel up to a trip.

And then he opened the white elephant gift. At first, he thought of it as some crappy rope bracelet, with brown and orange design, but he decided to wear it anyways. It wasn't girlie, after all, so why not? He didn't go and buy a useless gift for the exchange for nothing.

* * *

After waking his grumpy mom and sister, they opened their gifts. Kiba got socks and a scarf from them (As usual) but the two were ecstatic when they opened his gifts to them. He got them both beautiful bracelets, both nearly identical, save for the color.

The sun rose, but the skies were gray with clouds of the same shade when Kiba walked out of his house as soon as he had the chance. He exhaled, watching his foggy breath fill the cold air ahead of him as he began to limp down the nearly empty streets of Konoha, (He felt useless with crutches, so decided to man it up and attempt a voyage without them,) shrugging on a jacket as he did so.

_No one in their right mind is awake right now... _He convinced himself_. _It was now Six O'clock in the morning, and people were either sleeping comfortably in their beds, or opening presents.

He struggled on for a few miles and stopped in his tracks when he spotted Ino across the street. She held that amazing smile that he had fallen for so long ago on her face in that moment. However, to Kiba's dismay, she was talking to _Sai_, and he was handing her a small, velvet box. She accepted it timidly, a pink tint coloring her pale cheeks.

He knew that she'd always found Sai rather good looking, and he could feel the jealousy rise in his warm-blooded veins. Did he not just tell her the night before that she still loved him? So what the hell was she doing taking jewelry from other guys, and blushing, no less!

His fists clenched and jaw tightened. _Calm down, Kiba... She's not yours. You and Ino are just friends._ He repeated a few times in his mind as he sauntered casually (and painfully, which each passing step) up to the pair.

"Hey, hey you two!" He came between them, wrapping one arm around Ino, "Merry Christmas! I see you're up bright and early to exchange gifts, ey?" He motioned to the velvet box that was now in Ino's hand. "Woah, what's this, a ring, perhaps?" He faked a wide, expectant grin, secretly seething inside.

Sai stared at Kiba with speculating eyes, trying to figure out what this obnoxious, not to mention smelly, man was trying to do.

Ino, on the other hand, did not know what to think. She blushed slightly as she glanced down at the velvet box. "N-No!" She shook her head, shrugging Kiba's arm off of her shoulders.

"It's actually a diamond bracelet." Sai said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Miss. Lovely should have only the prettiest of jewels to match her beauty." He smiled brightly at Ino, who smiled, "Aww, you're sweet, Sai." Opening the box, she took the bracelet out and allowed Sai to attach it to her small wrist. Kiba stood by and watched with furrowed brows. "So, what, are you two dating now? Is there something that I missed since just yesterday? Because, you know, Sai, I think there's something you should know--"

"Kiba!" Ino kicked him roughly in the shin and he cried in pain, practically falling to the ground. "Please," Her eyes narrowed, "you should know, more than anyone else, that it's not like that." She turned in a huff and walked away from both of the men.

"Fuck, Ino!" He shouted after her, "You know my leg is _broken_, right?" His anger boiled,

"Damn it!" He spoke under his breath, limping away from a bewildered Sai and after the blonde kunoichi.

"What the hell was that for!" He shouted, catching up to her on one leg, hobbling up behind her.

"You know what it was for, Kiba!" Ino shouted right back, turning on her heels to face him. He nearly tumbled over onto her, but maintained his stability.

"Well you can't blame me for being a little jealous when even after last night, you're going around with other people!"

"I'm _not_ 'going around with other people,'" Came her heated reply. She took a threatening step toward him and her words were bitter as they escaped her mouth, "I'm not you."

He closed his fist, his claws cutting into his flesh. He nearly retorted, but bit his tongue as she walked away from him. He cursed and punched a nearby wall, wincing in pain and drawing back, having forgotten that his "good" arm was still maimed with cuts and bruises.

He looked at the sky; _It's going to rain..._ He noted as he popped his hood on and limped back down the street toward his house, his anger subsiding.

He discovered his prediction to have been true when the sky began to sprinkle, and seconds later, pour an icy rain down onto the Earth. From head to toe, he was soaking wet in a matter of minutes. Shivering and limping along, Kiba lost his footing (seeing that it's tough to walk with a broken leg) and tripped, falling into the mud. He tried, a number of times, to push himself up, but just seemed to have hurt his limbs even further, unable to keep himself standing for even a short period of time.

"Sh-Shit!" He hit his fists against the muddy ground in an almost childish fit of rage. _What a lame-ass way to taste defeat... _He felt ridiculous, sitting in the mud like a lost, helpless little boy. His manhood was certainly being mocked, somehow.

Some Christmas this turned out to be.

* * *

**This chapter is meant to hold the fort for a little while, seeing as I'm going on vacation.**

**I should get another one up soon enough, though.**

**Sorry if this chapter doesn't measure up to your standards! ;/**


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